


Atari

by seki



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2013-11-22
Packaged: 2018-01-02 06:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seki/pseuds/seki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To capture territory, you need to gradually encircle the target.</p><p>Go, attraction, and patience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A shadow fell across his desk, towards the end of lunch break.

"Yo," said Niou, throwing a book carelessly on top of Renji's work. "Got something for you."

 _Something_ was a slim clothbound book; a selection of some example moves and positions for games of Go, with analyses of the strategies involved. Renji flipped through a few pages, uncertainly.

"Thank you," he said, politeness overriding confusion for now. "To what do I owe this generosity?"

"Enh, not much," Niou said, and made a dismissive gesture. "I ended up with a spare copy, couldn't think of anyone else who'd want it."

Renji frowned automatically -- Niou's gifts tended to come with hidden agendas -- then smoothed out the expression into mild gratitude. _Spare_ copy. "You play Go?"

Niou raised an amused eyebrow. "Tsk, you're slipping, data man. Shouldn't you know that already?"

"Ah yes," Renji smiled faintly, tracing the kanji for blue in the author's name on the cover. "I sometimes forget that I'm omniscient."

Niou opened his mouth, as if to reply, and then looked at the clock in a reasonably convincing pretense of having just noticed the time. "Ah, whoops, better duck back into my classroom. Catch you in practise later."

Renji watched him leave, and then looked at the book again. Go. It wasn't actually a game he favoured -- he played Shogi and Sugoroku often with Sanada, and occasionally Mahjong with his family, but for some reason their Go board rarely got used. Renji suspected that the vague bits of Go strategy he could remember were actually better suited for the five-in-a-row variants that one of his uncles liked.

 _Niou_ played Go? Interesting.

\--

"Your brother made the team, I hear," Renji said, idly, after practise the next evening.

Niou's back was to him, and Renji saw the muscles in his shoulders tense fractionally before Niou visibly relaxed and laughed. "Ah, yes. How'd you hear?"

"The president of the high school team also has a brother in the middle school club," Renji said, hauling off his own top. "Apparently Niou-kun is making quite the impact."

Niou shrugged.

Yukimura, on the other side of Niou, leaned back so he was visible and caught Renji's eye. His eyebrows were raised in exaggerated curiosity; Renji spared him a soothing _explanation later_ smile. "Aren't you proud of him?"

"Eh, I suppose," said Niou, freeing his rat-tail from its tie and dragging his fingers through it as a makeshift comb. "Reserving judgement until he comes back with a trophy."

"Or until he can reliably beat you," murmured Yagyuu, very nearly under his breath. Renji pretended not to hear that particular tidbit, and knelt to rummage around in his bag for a towel instead.

Niou was good enough that his brother -- apparently some kind of Go prodigy, from Ohara-kun's enthusiastic description -- didn't beat him often. _Huh_. Well, perhaps Niou-the-younger had learned from playing Niou-the-elder; heavens knew, Renji could name a double-handful of tennis players whose family rivalries had helped them become excellent competitors. Perhaps Niou hadn't made much of his Go ability because tennis obligations had kept him from that school club; the schedules certainly wouldn't have been easy to reconcile.

Renji pulled the slim volume out of his bag that evening, and started reading. After twenty-two minutes, he put the book down and went to fetch board and stones; after a further seventy-four minutes, he put the book down and stared at the board in frustration.

Too many variations. Even assuming a predictable set of moves from one side, the other side could make so many potential moves; it made it near-impossible to pick options. How could a player develop a proper strategy in the face of _that_?

Sadaharu actually laughed at him, on the phone.

Once he'd stopped finding the situation quite so entertaining, however, Sadaharu suggested that perhaps Renji might need a simpler, more basic introductory book, one that emphasised the patterns already optimised over the years, and -- after a pause filled with the frantic tapping of his keyboard -- furnished a handful of suggestions for primers. He also offered to set up some way to conduct a few games online, an offer which Renji considered for a moment before declining for now; one area of intense-and-friendly rivalry with Sadaharu was sufficient, really.

\--

Sanada frowned, that fierce dark line furrowed across his brow aging him prematurely. Renji could understand why others thought Sanada to be ill-tempered so often; his features always made him look thunderous if he was even fractionally less than content with the world.

For example, right now, Sanada was only considering his next move; to Renji's knowledge, he was in a rather good mood, and the general expression of anger was directed only at the board for not immediately offering up an obvious location for him to set down his stone.

"It's been years since I played," Sanada said, finally setting down his stone with a quiet click. "Shogi players don't play Go. I'm not going to be much of a challenge to you."

"Actually, I think we're probably about even," admitted Renji, tilting his head in case viewing the board at a 45-degree angle offered any insight. It didn't; he wasn't sure Sanada even _had_ a particular joseki in mind, and if he did then Renji didn't recognise it. He sighed, and tried to concentrate on securing territory of his own instead. "I'm woefully bad at this. Perhaps you should revoke my status as team strategist."

Sanada snorted, and then stared at the board again. "Is this because of Niou?"

Renji risked a glance at Sanada's face -- impassive, surprisingly unreadable -- and then shrugged lightly. "He reminded me that I wanted to pick Go up again some day, yes."

"Mm." Sanada set down his stone, in what was a predictably antagonistic move, in the middle of Renji's slowly-developing framework. "Well, let's hope he spots you a few stones when you challenge him, hmm?"

"You should have more faith in me," said Renji, mildly. Damn, now they were going to have to have an actual contest in this corner of the board, much earlier than he'd hoped. Oh well. He set down a stone in what he hoped was the best place to follow this pattern through. "I won't challenge him until I think I stand a chance."

Sanada picked up another stone. "You'll be waiting a long time, then. He played Marui once, apparently, a couple of years ago; Marui said that Niou wouldn't tell him his ranking but gave him black _and_ a fistful of starting stones like they meant nothing. _And_ kicked his ass anyway."

"Marui's only 12th-kyu or so. Niou wouldn't have to be that good to beat him."

Sanada shrugged. "Right now, Marui would wipe the floor with either of us, I think." He set down his stone, in Renji's pattern, and then immediately scowled. "Ah, crap."

"Huh?" Renji considered the move as it related to the whole corner, and then smiled. "Oh, I see. Oh dear."

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, capture that group." Sanada plucked another stone from his pot, and held it up to his eye. "I might be terrible, but even I remember that this game is a campaign, not a battle. One early loss means _nothing_."

\--

Niou was sprawled out on the floor, not far from the water fountains. The textbook in front of him was open to a page of circulatory system diagrams, but his eyes were screwed tightly shut and he seemed to be muttering to himself.

Renji folded himself down as quietly as he could, cross-legged, by Niou's shoulder, ready to wait.

Niou's eyes snapped open almost immediately. "Data man. What can I do for you?"

"What _dan_ are you?"

"'Good afternoon, Niou-kun, I just wanted to see your pretty face, no other reason.'" Niou's eyes closed again. "Why is it relevant?"

"You wanted to provoke me into taking it up, so I should know what level I'm aiming for."

"I did not," said Niou, mildly. "I gave you a spare copy of a book. You like books. I'm not looking for a _rival_ here."

Renji repressed the urge to shake Niou, and made a show of preparing to stand up. "Oh. Well. If your rank is that low, perhaps--"

He waited, but Niou didn't take the bait.

"--perhaps you can just keep playing against opponents like Marui," he finished, aware that it lacked any weight as a jibe.

Niou opened his eyes, and gave him a dubious look. "You know there's a whole _club_ of decent Go players at this very school? Why would I need to provoke _you_ to get an opponent?"

Good question. Renji smiled beatifically. "Now, Niou-kun. Why spoil your fun by answering?"

Niou snorted, and closed his eyes again. "Fine. Have fun trying to wheedle my ranking out of Yagyuu."

"For shame." Renji hauled himself onto his feet. "I wouldn't stoop that low."

One eye opened again, as Niou smirked up at Renji. "Yet."

\--

"So you see," said Renji, mostly in an attempt to convince himself, "either I ask you or I have to ask Niou's family directly."

Yagyuu raised an eyebrow, in an _incredibly_ Niou-ish fashion. He was, in fact, more than half-way to being Niou right now; Yagyuu's mother had ushered Renji into Yagyuu's room in the middle of his preparations. Amber contact lenses were in, subtle makeup had been applied around the nose and eyes, and he was wearing the kind of soft, subtly-patterned shirt that Niou seemed to have developed a taste for in the past year or so. It'd only take the wig and a little more makeup, and the illusion would be pretty firmly in place.

Renji wondered quite what Yagyuu's mother made of her son's habit of dressing up as his best friend, but shoved the speculation into the same corner of his mind that housed his thoughts about what Niou thought about the same thing and focused on re-marshalling his arguments.

"Niou expected me to ask you," he said, plaintively, clutching at the silver-grey wig Yagyuu had handed him.

"Yes, he did," said Yagyuu, turning his attention back to the mirror, scrutinising himself closely. "He requested I not give you a direct answer."

 _Requested_ , noted Renji. Not _told_. Not _instructed._

"Are you and Niou meeting up later?" he tried instead, looking for some kind of opening in the conversation.

Yagyuu tilted the mirror so that Renji could see his eyes and frowned slightly. "Why would you think that?"

Renji made a gesture, intended to take in the whole disguise. "Because you're.. switching."

"This? This is because it's my turn with his girlfriend tonight."

Renji was startled into a nervous cough of embarrassment. "Oh."

Yagyuu regarded him in the mirror for a moment, and then smiled politely, unsettling though that looked. "I'm joking, Yanagi-kun. I am going to Niou-kun's house, yes. No girls are involved."

"Can I ask you not to tell him I--"

"You can ask, but his wishes overrule yours." Yagyuu sighed, and set down the mirror. "I will clarify something, though. Niou-kun does not play formal matches or compete in tournaments. I suspect he plays opponents online every so often, but I couldn't tell you if he plays consistently enough on any server for their system to gauge his level accurately."

 _Which means he doesn't necessarily have a formal rank_. "I--oh."

Yagyuu lifted the mirror again, and picked up something that looked more like a pencil than a makeup implement. "He does play a few opponents regularly. His brother. Some of the school team. Myself, very occasionally."

"So you could estimate his level, then?"

"Only by inference." Yagyuu used the pencil to do _something_ at the inner corners of his eyes, making no overall difference as far as Renji could see but seeming to satisfy himself. "Niou's brother just achieved 1st-dan."

Renji nodded. "So, Niou would be somewhat higher."

"By perhaps a dan or two." Yagyuu efficiently gave himself a mark that resembled Niou's prominent chin mole, then added two more smaller ones low on his neck. "He's not _that_ outstanding a player, Yanagi-kun. He doesn't work at it."

The inference _there_ was clear also; if Niou chose to put effort in, he could be a lot better. Renji nodded, trying not to fidget with the wig in his hands.

Yagyuu set down his pencil, and examined himself again before giving a small nod. "I will also make one more observation, if you'll permit me."

"Certainly."

Yagyuu picked up a small piece of flesh-coloured nylon from his desk, and began tugging it over his head, tucking his hair into it. Renji tried not to stare. "Niou-kun respects you a great deal. Whatever you think he's trying to achieve here, he's not trying to make himself look better at your expense."

"Thank you, but that reassurance is unnecessary." Yagyuu raised an eyebrow at him again, and it looked rather eerie with his hair hidden under mesh and his face so _Niou_. "No, genuinely, I'd already dismissed that thought. I would not be indulging my curiosity if I thought he was being vindictive."

Yagyuu took the wig from Renji's hands, then bent his head over it and pulled the wig up and over his own head. When he lifted his head, he looked like a very-slightly-skewed Niou, his hairline just a touch misaligned over Yagyuu's left brow and his fringe brushed the wrong way.

Renji reached out his hand to correct the issue, reflexively, and then stopped himself. Yagyuu shot him an amused look, and then looked in his mirror and settled the wig into a more accurate position, fluffing it out at the back and tugging on the rat-tail. His eyes met Renji's gaze again, and his mouth widened into a sharp, knowing smile.

"Good luck, though," Yagyuu drawled in Niou's voice then, and Renji sighed in defeat. "In _whatever_ game you end up playing. C'mon, time to clear out."

\--

Yukimura was surprisingly enthused about Go, Renji thought to himself, as Yukimura slid another stone into place. Renji was starting to recognise more of the basic patterns, now, and Yukimura was playing some sort of variant on a pinwheel opening. Yukimura also had a very good Go set; he had a proper wooden floorboard that was an inheritance from some relative on his mother's side, and Chinese-style lacquered bowls for his rather expensive-looking stones. As a tactile experience, it was rather delightful; certainly significantly better than Renji's own set.

"You aren't playing me very aggressively," Renji observed, setting his stone down in the next move in the sequence.

Yukimura hmmed at that, and picked out another stone, weighing it in his hand. "Guilty. I don't want to put you off. You've never wanted to play against me before."

"I was only theoretically aware you played," said Renji. It was true; Yukimura had always had this board in the corner of his room -- usually covered in tennis magazines -- but it hadn't really been something Renji had paid much attention to before. "I'm surprised you found the time to become so proficient."

Yukimura slid the stone gracefully into place, following the pattern Renji anticipated. "My mother used to bring a set into the hospital sometimes. It's one of the few interests we share."

"I see." Renji placed his next stone.

"I'm afraid, however, that I'm not actually _that_ good," Yukimura said, and Renji looked up, startled. Was _everyone_ going to be humble about this game? Yukimura presumably caught something of the expression on his face, and laughed lightly. "I'm sorry. I'm not awful, either. But my mother tells me I'm too impatient: _play fast, lose fast_."

"Proverbs, from you?"

"Oh, this game is all about the proverbs." Yukimura smiled, and then unexpectedly said something in appallingly-accented Mandarin. Renji turned the sounds over in his head until they made sense.

"'Greed will not... let you gain victory?'"

"Indeed. You should talk to my mother sometime, she can recite pithy little bits of Go advice for hours." Yukimura slid another stone into place, and Renji blinked; that didn't follow the pattern he was expecting. "Sanada tells me this newfound interest is our trickster's fault."

"Genichirou exaggerates his influence on me, but I admit he contributed." Renji frowned over the board, and hesitantly set down a stone near his corner, trying to be cautious. "He gave me a book, that's all."

Yukimura very swiftly slid his next stone into place, his expression amused. "I look forward to seeing how _that_ turns out, whatever he's up to."

Renji shrugged. "I'm less and less convinced he had much of an ulterior motive. It's not as if he's getting to see my incompetent playing." He set down another stone.

"It's entirely possible," said Yukimura, sliding another stone into place with enough speed to make Renji wonder how many moves ahead of him Yukimura was calculating, "that he thinks you won't be incompetent for long. If you put effort into learning, you'll excel at it soon enough."

 _That_ sentiment rang a bell; it took a moment for Renji to connect it with Yagyuu's implied comment on Niou's abilities. He smiled, and set down another stone, ignoring Yukimura's last few moves and trying instead to start a new pattern of his own. "That may take a while."

"Thankfully, _you_ are more patient than I." Yukimura clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth for a moment, and then slid his stone into place, following the flow of the new pattern Renji had begun.

\--

Yagyuu looked up from the table he was at, and smiled, politely pulling his books back to make some room. "Yanagi-kun, join us?"

Renji nodded, placing his own books down and taking the seat on the bench next to Niou. "Thank you. I didn't expect it to be quite so busy in here."

"Midterms next week, and it's raining," said Niou, not lifting his eyes from his textbook. There was a gentle buzz of conversation all around them; nearly every seat at every table was occupied. "Everyone's cramming."

"Are they that soon? I keep thinking we have longer." Renji flipped open his notes from their last History class, and tried to get comfortable on the hard bench. The table -- in the warmest corner of the library -- was quite small, and his knee bumped against Niou's under the table for a moment, making Niou jump unexpectedly. "Ah, sorry."

"Nn, it's fine." Niou wrinkled his nose at his textbook. "Fuck's sake, Yagyuu, do _you_ understand this diagram from today? I keep thinking these bonds don't add up."

Yagyuu leaned forward, peering at the upside-down diagram that Niou was directing his ire at, and scratched in an extra line between two of the elements with his pencil.

Niou's frown lifted, and he grinned across the table. "My hero. Marry me?"

"No deal," said Yagyuu, turning his attention back to his own books. " _I_ still prefer women."

Niou stuck his tongue out at Yagyuu for a moment before copying out the altered diagram into his own notebook.

Renji kept his eyes on his own notes and tried to focus on the Siege of Odawara. He surfaced when Niou's knee bumped against his, again, some time later.

"Oops," said Niou, and flashed him an apologetic grin. "Hey, you got an English dictionary there?"

Renji shook his head. Yagyuu, across the table, rolled his eyes and leaned down to dig around in his schoolbag for a moment before handing Niou the requested item.

"Thank you, light of my life," said Niou, in English.

"You're welcome, bane of _my_ life," said Yagyuu, also in English, and Niou pulled another face at that before flicking through the book determinedly.

Another knee pressed into his, with intent behind it, and Renji glanced up to see Yagyuu frowning at him thoughtfully. Yagyuu's gaze flicked to the pile of books between them for a moment, and then he removed his knee and dropped his gaze back to his own notes again.

Renji hurriedly assessed the pile of books; school textbooks, a biographical dictionary for some research, a novel... and the book Niou had given him, poking out of the side nearest Yagyuu. He let himself smile a little, ruefully; he'd been carrying it around with his schoolbooks for so long he'd almost forgotten it was in there. He tweaked the pile a little, under guise of extracting the novel, so that the Go book was less visible; it would probably amuse Niou far too much to see it.

A short while later, Niou stretched -- his shoulders made unpleasant cracking noises as he did so, and Renj repressed the urge to recommend some supplements -- and then stacked up all his papers into a neat pile, yawning. "No more for me today, that's it. Toshima-sensei can stuff his test for all I care."

Yagyuu levelled a disapproving look over his glasses at Niou, but didn't argue.

Niou slid the pile smoothly into his schoolbag. "What about you, data man? You fancy getting some ramen before you head home?"

Renji glanced over at Yagyuu, who was still writing with no apparent intention to stop soon, and hesitated. Studying with Yagyuu, who would likely make some pointed comment about Renji's reading materials, versus food and unpredictable conversation with Niou. "That sounds good," he found himself saying, packing away his schoolwork. "Just give me a moment to get ready?"

Niou hauled his bag onto his shoulder. "Take your time. I need a piss anyway. See you by the entrance."

Renji watched him amble towards the exit, automatically sliding schoolbooks into his bag. A hand seized his wrist suddenly.

"Yanagi-kun," Yagyuu began, in a low voice, and then he appeared to reconsider, and released Renji with a sigh. "Never mind, I suppose I shouldn't ask."

"About what?"

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose, and smiled faintly, his fingers flicking briefly towards the stack of books. "You're still studying Go? I'm surprised it's held your attention so firmly."

"It's... surprisingly rewarding," said Renji, feeling defensive. "It's forcing me to think in new ways."

"Yes. The more you study it, the more interesting it gets. Like so many things." Yagyuu smiled again, and turned his attention back to his books. "Well. I suggest you catch up with Niou before he gets bored of waiting for you."

\--

They ambled through the streets around the city centre, finally stopping at a tiny ramen stand near the station that only had empty stools because it wasn't quite time for the salarymen to return home from their jobs yet. Renji took a seat carefully, and caught the owner's attention, holding up two fingers. The owner nodded, and busied himself with the bowls.

Niou sprawled himself across the seat next to Renji. "Fuck, I'm exhausted. Can you tell Yukimura to lay off the crazy juice for a few days? I could do with a rest."

Renji shook his head. "I'm afraid it's unlikely to make any difference. We have those _friendly_ exhibition matches next week, and he wants us to look good."

"Yeah, take _his_ side, why don't you."

The stall owner set down two bowls of ramen in front of them. Renji reached for his wallet, and Niou slapped him on the arm lightly.

"Uh-uh, my treat this time. You paid the other day."

Renji shrugged, and bent over his noodles. This had become a weird little routine; Niou would haul Yanagi along to some kind of eaterie after school every so often -- when Yagyuu was busy with student council, usually -- and they'd _talk_. Renji couldn't _confide_ in Niou like he could in Seiichi or Sadaharu or Genichirou, but the conversation came easily enough. Sometimes they talked about tennis. Mostly they talked about school things, or exchanged mild gossip, or they discussed books or films or music.

Until recently, Renji had thought of Niou as a friend, in the same way he thought of Marui; not a close friend by any means, but certainly someone he got along with amicably and who he socialised with regularly. They'd spent about four years playing tennis together intensively, with all the boundary-lowering that entailed. It was hard not to become friends of a sort.

But they'd never hung out like this before, just the two of them. Renji concluded that he'd been missing out; Niou was unexpectedly eloquent and charming when he was enthusiastic about something. When he'd coaxed Niou into a discussion of _Botchan_ \- a novel Renji had read and re-read until two different copies had fallen apart from overuse - Niou's dry comments about cowardice and freedom had sent Renji scurrying back to re-read the novel again. When Niou had, one day, been full of sparky, vicious enthusiasm for a movie he'd seen about delinquent gangs, his descriptions had made Renji suddenly grasp why on earth someone might actually watch that sort of thing.

Niou was fascinating, in fact. Had he always been like this? Had Renji just never paid attention before?

"Eat up, I'm in a rush today."

Renji glanced over at Niou, who was most of the way done with his bowl. "Oh?"

Niou nodded, shovelling another mouthful of noodles into his mouth. He swallowed, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Yeah, sorry. Need to go babysit at home."

"Your brother? Isn't he old enough to not need that now?"

Niou shook his head. "Not after how _I_ was at that age." He brought another mouthful of noodles up, and then paused. "Not that he's much like me. But you know how parents get."

Renji swallowed his own mouthful, and made a vague gesture intended to imply agreement while not actually suggesting Renji's parents were anything less than entirely reasonable. "Well, that's alright. I have some chores at home I really should be doing anyway, and--"

Niou waved his chopsticks frantically in negation, one hand over his mouth as he swallowed hastily. "Ah, ah, you're coming with me. I need grown-up company or I'll go mad, and Yagyuu's got student council today."

"Oh." Renji dropped his eyes back to his bowl, dipping his spoon into the broth. He'd never been to Niou's house before; he was pretty certain Niou made a point of not inviting people there, in fact.

Niou's brother, was, it turned out, a little like looking at some kind of genetic breeding experiment between Niou and Yagyuu. Norihide had the angular features and slenderness of his older sibling, but with neatly-parted dark hair, and he wore a pair of slim-framed square glasses over eyes that were nearly as piercing as Niou's own.

"Yanagi-san," he said politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My teachers still talk about your literature essays. They're very insightful."

Renji bowed his head in bemused acceptance of the compliment, trying to assess Niou's reaction. He looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes.

"I can make tea for you both, if you'd like," Norihide continued, lowering his eyes.

"Nah, don't worry," Niou cut in. "I'll handle the hospitality, it's fine. Go on, go entertain yourself."

Norihide nodded, bowed again very formally to Renji, and then left, wordlessly.

Niou led Renji into the small kitchen, and let out a sigh. "Eh, sorry about him. He's not always quite so stiff; he just gets nervy around people he doesn't know much."

"He reminds me of Yagyuu."

Niou pursed his lips, nodding as he filled the kettle. "Yep, well. Yagyuu's the one who got him to come out of his room, so that's probably fair enough. I hope it wears off eventually though; one Yagyuu's enough."

Renji bit his tongue on his immediate question and looked around the kitchen instead. "Did your family always live here? For some reason I thought you lived closer to Yagyuu's house at one point."

"No, I just stay over at his a lot." Niou put the kettle on to boil. "You'd better not be expecting a full tea ceremony here, by the way; I can just about make a pot without stewing it, but I'm kind of a heathen."

"I'll live."

Niou pulled out two cups and a small, squat teapot, and then leant back against the counter. "You can ask, you know. About my brother, I mean. I might not tell you, but it's not like the question'll piss me off."

Renji shrugged. "If you want me to know, you'll tell me."

"God, if that's how you gather data, it's a miracle you're as informed as you are. Just ask me, will you?" Niou rinsed out the teapot with hot water, and then made probably the _laziest_ pot of tea Renji had ever witnessed someone make with a guest right there; there were _teabags_ and he stuck a spoon _directly_ into the pot and stirred it around vaguely to agitate the bags and _augh_. Renji tried not to wince.

"Um. You said he locked himself in his room?"

"Right. For about four weeks last year. Only came out at night or when the house was empty to steal food. My father thought that was it, he was going to be one of those shut-ins forever and bring shame on the family. Me, I had no idea what to do: Noricchi wants to lock himself away, nothing I can say seems to make any impact." Niou sloshed out some tea into the cups. "I'm still not even sure why he did it, really."

Renji took one of the cups, nearly scorching himself in his haste to have _something_ to do while Niou vented.

"Anyway, thank _fuck_ for Yagyuu; he came and camped outside my brother's room for four nights in a row talking to him and on the fifth day my brother actually came down for dinner like a normal human being." Niou took a sip from his own cup, and made a vague gesture. "I think the polite formal stuff is Noricchi's way of coping with shit now. If it works, more power to him."

Renji found his voice. "I remember not being certain you and Yagyuu would even get along enough to play as a doubles team."

"Yeah?" Niou smirked. "Weird thought. My life'd be so different without him around. And his'd be a lot more boring without me." He gestured towards the door. "My room's upstairs, first door on the left. Be right behind you."

Niou's room was small and clean and somehow managed to be _exactly_ the way Renji would have guessed while still being surprising in a number of ways. He had two futons, stacked neatly together in one corner, next to a small desk with a computer. One wall of the room had a large sliding door, behind which Renji assumed Niou kept his clothes; it had been decorated with a bunch of different patterned papers, slightly amateurishly. There was a chest of drawers -- with a TV and music player fighting for space on top -- next to a very full bookcase; hooks festooned the edges of the shelves and there were phone charms and beads and bits of paper and things hanging off all of them in a riot of cluttered-ness.

On the wall there was a large pinboard and a shelf; Niou's tennis trophies were shoved rather untidily onto the shelf, as if he was embarrassed by them, but the pinboard had lots of photos; some of their classmates and teammates, and some people Renji didn't recognise at all. Renji's eyes lingered for a moment on a pretty girl in a pink sunhat beaming straight down the camera lens, and then caught on a photo he had a copy of himself, taken by Akaya; Yukimura and himself pulling faces behind Sanada's back, while Sanada himself looked the epitome of the stern fukubuchou.

"Natsuko," said Niou quietly, behind him. Renji turned, unsure what Niou was talking about. Niou jerked his chin towards the photo, and set his tray down carefully on the floor. "The girl."

"She's very pretty."

"She's my cousin, and a pain in the ass, but it's a nice photo." Niou sat down, and picked up his cup. "By the way, if there's anything else you actually want, let me know. I'm a crap host, I can't anticipate that stuff for shit."

"This is fine." Renji glanced around. "I've never seen your room before. It's interesting."

Niou shrugged. "It's home." He waved his arm around. "Welcome, and all that. My brother will be nose-deep in some online game by now, so as long as we don't leave the house I'm pretty much off the hook supervision-wise. Wanna watch a movie?"

\--

Yukimura slid him a note, during History. It read _I brought tamagoyaki. Lunch on the roof?_

"Well," said Yukimura, brightly, when Renji found him up there an hour later. "Hello there, stranger."

Renji frowned, and dusted off the bench next to Yukimura. "Don't exaggerate."

"What? I barely see you these days, not since you and Niou suddenly became besties." Yukimura leaned in close, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Poor Yagyuu, forced to share after all this time."

"It's not like that," said Renji, irritated. "Friendship isn't a monopoly, and Niou's good company."

"I'm sure he is." Yukimura opened his bento. "I'm just joking, really. How badly does he kick your ass at Go, then?"

Renji, leaning in to take a slice of Yukimura's tamagoyaki, paused. "He doesn't."

Yukimura made an impressed sound. "Either he's going easy on you, or you're a lot better than when we last played."

"No, I mean we don't play Go. I don't think I've even seen a board in his house." Renji studied sequences of moves, in the evenings. He was still finding the theory interesting; watching the options blossom from every new move was invigorating. But he hadn't actually _played_ a game in weeks -- even his occasional matches against Sanada had drifted to a halt.

Yukimura looked confused. "Uh. Really?"

"Now I think about it, yes." Renji snagged one of the slices, pulling it into his own bowl of rice. "Strange. I assume there's a set in his brother's room."

"No -- I mean, that's strange, sure, but really -- you aren't hanging out with him to play Go?"

Renji looked up from his bowl, and Yukimura's expression was strange and slightly apprehensive. "No?"

Yukimura leant forward. "What _do_ you guys do, then?"

"Go for food. Talk. Watch movies." Renji wasn't quite sure what Yukimura was waiting to hear. "Just... hang out, really. I try to stop him butchering good tea, and he tries to convince me that blood-and-guts movies are actually valid works of art. Neither of us is winning yet."

"Oh."

"What were you expecting?"

Yukimura shrugged. "I'm really not sure. Something less wholesome, I suppose? It _is_ Niou."

"I'm not sure he was ever really that much of a delinquent."

"I suppose not. I think I'm a little disappointed." Yukimura picked up a slice of tamagoyaki, and bit into it. "Do you ever see his sister around? Apparently she's _gorgeous_."

Renji laughed. "What happened to your crush on Otoyama?"

"Don't remind me -- actually, did you hear? She's dating that big hairy guy from class 2-F now." Yukimura sighed. "One day, one day."

\--

"This is a dreadful film."

"Usually, I'd argue for the hell of it, but nope, you're right, this is crap." Niou yawned, and brandished the remote control. "Your choice: mock it the rest of the way through, or watch something else instead."

"Oh, I'll take mockery, every time."

"I knew I liked you for a reason."

\--

"Um. Don't be angry, but I have a question: is this thing you have with Niou, uh, more than just friendship?"

Renji was too surprised to register any other emotion. "No. Why on earth would you ask that?"

Yukimura looked around as if checking they were still alone in their corner of the school garden. "Do you remember Fuji from Seigaku? Short, always smiles, makes me look butch and manly by comparison."

"Yes, I remember."

"Fuji's brother was at St Rudolph's. Apparently Niou was involved with one of the guys there. Not a tennis player, just one of the older students."

Renji shook his head. "That's third-hand gossip at best, Seiichi, and very vague at that."

"It was a pretty persistent rumour. There was one going around last year too, that he was with a different guy. You've never thought he could be, you know, that way?"

"Not especially." Renji closed his lunch box, and considered. Yagyuu _had_ made that joke about liking women, once, and Niou hadn't denied it. But then, Yagyuu had also joked that he and Niou were sharing a girlfriend. "You shouldn't go suggesting things like that about your friends."

Yukimura tipped his head to one side. "And you're not annoyed that I implied you might be gay."

"I've honestly never really thought about it much."

"Seriously?"

"No." Renji stared at the lid of his box. "I mean, maybe a bit. You know. Everyone has little moments." He glanced up at Yukimura. " _Everyone_ , Seiichi. It doesn't mean much."

Yukimura laughed. "Is that so?"

"Yes. But none of my moments were ever over Niou."

"Hmm." Yukimura leant forward, and tapped Renji on the knee. "I think I could understand if they were. He's quite magnetic, in his own way. I just wondered, that's all."

\--

Renji's imagination was inspired enough by Yukimura's musings that he was forced to seek out distractions that evening. It helped that Sadaharu was an _unpleasant_ opponent when it came to Go. Renji allowed him to gloat for a while over the phone, and then made his excuses and went back to studying his book of life-and-death problems determinedly. When he slept, his dreams were full of soothing black and white, tiny circles chasing each other and eyes that opened and closed seemingly at random.

\--

Niou handed Renji a bottle of cold barley tea, and leaned back against the counter. "It's actually just you and me for now. Norihide's got a club meeting until later."

Renji nodded, vaguely cursing Yukimura. He was going to have to spent a couple of hours _alone_ with Niou in his house. And it wasn't _Niou's_ fault that Yukimura had decided to spread ridiculous rumours, so Renji was just going to have to bite down his discomfort.

Niou glanced upwards, and gestured with his bottle. "Let's go, then. I downloaded that weird arthouse film you were talking about the other day."

Renji nodded mutely again, and picked up his bag. 

Niou frowned, and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong? You've been kinda off since we left school."

Renji shook his head, and took a gulp of his drink to try and stop his mouth feeling quite so dry. "It's nothing. Seiichi said something, that's all."

Niou was still frowning.

"It was just something odd. Don't worry."

Niou took his hand away. "Uh. I know we don't… I mean, if you need to talk about it, then--"

"No, it's fine. Really." Renji managed to pull up a smile from somewhere. "Let's go watch the film."

Within about thirty minutes, he was regretting the suggestion. The movie was some European film with moody lighting and subtitles, and it was full of _kissing_ and _meaningful looks_ and really, what with everything, Renji was wishing they were watching some chainsaw-infused gorefest today instead.

It didn't help that they were sitting -- or in Niou's case, sprawling bonelessly -- on a rolled-out futon. Renji kept wondering if Niou had invited the mysterious and possibly nonexistent St Rudolph's boy up here, had kissed him and touched him in this room. And even if he hadn't, this was still _Niou's_ bed. Niou had probably touched _himself_ on this futon, had fantasised about boys or girls or whatever Niou fantasised about while staring at this ceiling, and now Renji was thinking along those lines he really wasn't going to be able to stop.

He was going to _kill_ Yukimura, if he didn't die of embarrassment first.

Niou paused the film. "Uh, Yanagi, seriously. You really don't look like you want to be here." He nudged Renji with his foot. "Spill, or I kick you out."

Renji sighed, drew his legs up, and rested his chin on his knees. "Seiichi asked me if I was gay."

Niou's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't otherwise react. "And?"

"I'm thinking about it. Perhaps I am, a little."

"Huh." Niou shifted, very slightly, but not in a way that seemed to be either drawing away or moving closer. "No wonder you're distracted. What did you do to make him ask?"

Renji wrapped his arms around his legs, pulling them tight against himself. "Um."

Niou blinked, slowly, and then sat up. "It's the company you're keeping, isn't it. Ah, crap. Sorry, I should have warned you."

" _Sorry?_ " Renji stared at Niou. " _Why?_ It's not _your_ fault there are stupid rumours."

"Uh," said Niou, looking sheepish. "It sort of _is_. Tanosuke was a sweet kid, but apparently he _sucked_ at not whining to all his friends after we broke up."

Renji tried not to gape, but he _knew_ he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding his surprise.

Niou leant back against his pillow. "And there was Naoya, before that." He pulled a sour face. "Stupid really, we didn't even get to second base but half his fucking school knew about us."

"It... the one Seiichi knew about went to St Rudolph's."

"Yeah, that's Naoya. Figures." Niou shrugged, radiating unconcern. "Yagyuu got kind of worried over that one; he even went out as me and got frisky with some random girl in public. It didn't make much of a dent in the gossip, though."

He took a swig from his bottle of tea, then held it out to Renji.

"I figure it could be worse, honestly. I've got muscles, brains, and a reputation for holding grudges and being inventively nasty. People aren't going to mess with me over it, even if they're tempted to."

Renji took the bottle, and brought it to his lips slowly, his eyes not leaving Niou's. "And what about me?"

"You? Smartest guy in school, one of the three demons of the feared tennis team? Please. You'll be fine."

Renji took a deep gulp from the bottle, and handed it back to Niou. "No, that's not what I mean. I might like a guy. But aren't we all supposed to have moments of confusion at our age? Maybe that's all _this_ is for me, and it'll pass."

Niou set down the bottle, and looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh, shit, I'm crap at advice. I just always knew, really. Guys do it for me, girls not so much."

"Girls work fine for me. So I've never tried, you know, deliberately thinking that way."

"So start there." Niou scratched at his nose, and then glanced away. " _Try_ thinking about them. Seriously; go look at naked men, and see if they _actually_ turn you on. If not, congratulations, you're probably straight."

Renji frowned. "It's that simple?"

"God, no, but it does help distinguish between _one crush on that nice senpai_ and _serious lifestyle adjustment_. You're the data obsessive, get some data."

"I don't even know where I'd get... pornography." The internet, probably. Who could he ask to help him? Sadaharu? Renji nearly gagged at the thought.

Niou rolled his eyes, and then sat up. "Right. Shoo. Outside, now."

Renji uncurled, startled. "Sorry, I'll get my bag, and--"

"No, just get _out_ of my room for a moment so I can get you a goddamned magazine without you seeing _all_ my secrets, you idiot."

"Oh." Renji stumbled to his feet, blushing. "Oh. That's... I mean, you don't..."

"Yeah, I kind of do." Niou shoved him out of the door, and slid it shut. "Wait there a moment, okay?"

Renji leant against the wall, his brain not really able to keep up with this. Niou was _lending him gay porn_. Yukimura would have kittens. Not that Renji would ever be able to tell him.

When Niou opened the door again, he thrust a tightly-rolled-up magazine into Renji's hand. "Right. Don't look at it now, you'll embarrass us both, okay? Just... stick it in your bag until you get home."

Renji glanced down at it. Even what he could see of the back cover had acres of muscular flesh visible, and he swallowed nervously. "Ah, thanks."

"That's just an advert," said Niou, his face pink enough to make Renji feel a little better about his own embarrassment. "Geez, they don't put cocks on the _cover_. Just... read it later, hide it somewhere safe. And for the love of all that is holy, _keep_ it."

Renji nodded, and took the three steps to where his schoolbag was, shoving the magazine inside and trying not to actually _look_ as he did so. He zipped his bag up, firmly, and bit his lip.

Niou exhaled, behind him. "So I don't know about you, but right now I'm going to pretend we have _not_ just had this whole conversation. Let's see if there's something suitably distracting on television, huh?"

\--

"My turn to pay," Renji said, after they ordered. Niou gave him a dubious look, but Renji held his gaze. "Please, I owe you."

"Alright."

They were in a little family restaurant between the school and the city centre; the place did starchy comfort food and good tea and right now Renji couldn't really face anything that wasn't _soothing_.

Niou twirled his straw around in his glass. "Well, this is excitingly awkward all of a sudden."

"So it's not just a simple crush, it turns out," said Renji. "Just to get that conversation out of the way. I... yeah. It makes a lot of sense, now I _know_."

"Aha."

"So, um. Thank you."

Niou twirled his straw again. "I'd say _anytime_ but, honestly, get your own porn in future. But, uh, glad it helped."

Renji nodded, staring at his own drink.

"So," said Niou, transferring his fidgeting from the straw to the napkin on the table, "I have no idea what difference it actually makes to you. You still like girls anyway, right?"

"I think so. Probably."

"Hmm."

"What was it like for you, knowing?"

Niou stared at his drink. "Hunh, a direct question. I... well. The answer doesn't make me look very good, and makes someone else look kind of shitty when they were trying _not_ to be."

"Oh."

Niou took a sip of his drink, and then crushed the napkin in his fist. "Imagine that you had a crush on... Yukimura, say. He's handsome, charismatic, all that; maybe it's not even much of a stretch, am I right? And imagine you _told_ him, because he was your first real crush and your friend and you thought it was what you were supposed to do. And imagine him thinking that he should _try_ to make you happy, even though he's straight, because he's your friend and he doesn't want to hurt you by saying no."

"...was this Yagyuu?"

Niou shook his head. "No, no. Thank fuck for that; Yagyuu's great and all but I wouldn't want to even _think_ about thinking about him that way. No, I _do_ have other friends, you know. Good ones, even, or I did."

"Okay." That was actually a relief; something about the idea of Niou pining over Yagyuu left a sour taste in Renji's mouth.

"And this friend even enjoyed stuff like kissing at first. A mouth is just a mouth, really. But then it started getting a bit heavier and hotter, and then he just freaked out completely. We had a big fight, and he told me he didn't even like guys. Then _I_ freaked out at him for lying to me, and that was _that_ friendship messed up and gone forever just for the sake of a few makeouts."

Renji put his hand out, wanting to do _something_ just to soften the horrible twist in Niou's smile. But then the waitress arrived with their plates, and the moment was lost.

Niou stared at his plate, and then picked up his chopsticks, snapping them apart with an angry-looking motion. "Don't do that, that's all I'm saying. Don't go falling for Yukimura, or that lunk of a fukubuchou of ours, or anyone you actually want to stay _friends_ with. It won't end well."

Renji poked at his own plate. His own appetite had fled. "I... yes, I can see that," he ventured, after a while. "All too easily."

Niou glanced up at him, then shoved his plate to one side. He reached down into his bag, and pulled out a notepad and two pens, and started sketching out a grid. "You know the rules for Gomoku, right? Five in a row? You're black."

Gomoku was an _absurdly_ one-sided game; there were tons of rules variants to make it less unfair. Against a decent black player, the white player _could not possibly win_. "Er. You mean Renju, right? Where we do the swap thing to even the chances?"

"Ha." Niou smirked, and handed Renji a pen. "Gomoku. Standard rules, 19 grid. Take black."

Two victories to white and one hard-fought draw later, Renji tossed down his pen and shook his head. The waitress had taken their cold plates away some time ago; his stomach rumbled. "You're _ridiculous_."

Niou laughed, and span his pen in his fingers idly. "It's a knack, that's all. Some people remember the strengths and weaknesses of the entire high school tennis circuit, and some people remember how to optimise game moves. Besides, you don't play dirty enough."

Renji flagged down the waitress as she passed, and asked her politely for the same order as before. She gave him a confused look, and he promised that they'd eat them this time, and pay for both orders.

Niou smiled at him, his earlier grimness banished, and flipped the notebook page over to a clean one, smoothing it down. "How's your Go these days?"

"Are you offering me a game?"

"That depends, really." Niou sketched out a small grid, and began drawing stones on it. "Not right now. But maybe soon."

"Are you drawing out life-and-death tests from _memory_?"

"Enh, this one's pretty common." Niou shoved it across the table at Renji, who stared at it, and then pointed wordlessly at the most likely-looking point. Niou made a thoughtful noise, and nodded, and took the pad back. He added a few more stones, and handed Renji the pad again, and again Renji stared at the diagram for a while before pointing to the point he thought seemed most likely.

Niou nodded again, more slowly, and then closed the pad as the waitress came back with their new plates.

"You're decent," he said, a few mouthfuls later. "Too cautious, though."

"You can tell that from two problems?"

"Two problems _and_ three games of Gomoku and years of watching you play tennis." Niou took a gulp of his water, and ploughed back into his rice. "If you're losing ground, you need to go on the attack or you'll never regain the advantage. It's the same principle."

Renji blinked. "Are you telling me to apply tennis strategy to Go?"

"Why not?" Niou waved airily with his chopsticks. "Apply any knowledge you have to everything. Use whatever you have, anywhere you can."

\--

Sanada threw up his hands. "I concede."

Renji sat back, grinning. "Coward." It had been a vicious little game there at the end, lots of captures and ko fights, lots of tiny struggles for territory. Sanada had been on the defensive for most of it, however.

"No, realist." Sanada shook his head. "Now I remember why I never really kept at this game."

Renji started clearing the board. "Now, now, don't be a sore loser."

"Oh, I'm not. You won, fair and square. I really can't deal with this game when it gets into counting and looking for tiny, tiny advantages."

"It's not _that_ taxing, Genichirou."

Sanada shook his head. "It's hard for me to explain what I mean to _you_ , I think." He glanced up at the clock. "My grandfather'll be back soon; I need to go sweep out the dojo. Come with me?"

The routine of the dojo chores were so familiar to Renji by now that he fell into the rhythm of matching Sanada's brush-strokes with ease, and soon he was carefully neatening up the stacks of mats while Sanada fastidiously checked the practise weapons for visible wear.

"So," said Sanada quietly, inspecting one of the wooden blades, "Yukimura said you might be in a bad mood with him, but wouldn't tell me why."

Renj tugged gently at a stray thread, testing to see if removing it would unravel anything or if it could just be snipped off. "I'm not."

"Oh."

"I mean, I was a bit irritated at the time." The thread seemed not to be crucial; Renji pulled out his penknife and snipped it. "But I'm actually glad he interfered."

Sanada put the blade back. "And you don't want to tell me what this was about?"

Explaining would bring up a whole host of further conversations. On the other hand, there was only so long they could be avoided for. Renji sighed. "Yukimura was wondering about the nature of my relationship with Niou."

"Oh. Er. _Is_ it a relationship?"

Renji dared a sideways look at Sanada, who was inspecting another blade, his posture carefully not _quite_ rigid. "You wouldn't mind?"

Sanada shrugged, and slid the blade back into place. "It's not my place to judge. I know I used to have issues with him. But he's grown up a bit, and you're smart enough to know if he's playing you or not."

"Huh."

"So if he makes you happy, I--"

"--we aren't dating."

Sanada sagged a little. "Oh, thank god." He passed a hand across his brow. "Seriously, it's not that I'd mind if you liked guys. It's that the idea of you and Niou _together_ is… it makes my brain hurt."

Now _that_ was more what he'd expected. Renji forced out a laugh, and then turned to face Sanada. "I do like guys, in fact."

Sanada blinked, and then took down another blade, slowly. "Well. That's new. Is there anyone I should know about? Is there anything you need help with?"

"Not especially." Renji sighed. "You're going to wish you hadn't asked but actually, I like _Niou_ , a bit, if anyone."

"Shit. It's official: you hate my brain," Sanada said flatly, and then smiled ruefully. "So, he's been seducing you with candlelit games of Go, then?"

"No. We don't play Go when we hang out together."

"...oh, my poor imagination."

Renji stuck his tongue out. "I already _said_ we weren't involved."

"Right, yes, I get it." Sanada put the blade back, and then stared at Renji for a while before walking over and sitting down next to him with a thump. "Can I ask _why_ you like him, of all people?"

"Oh god, Genichirou. What do you want, a list? Why do you like that giggly girl from 3-E?"

Sanada gave him a startled look and then sighed. "Sorry, dumb question. But hey, cut me a little slack. My best friend's got the gay hots for _Niou_."

"That's a bit more... uh, bluntly than I'd put it."

Sanada put one arm around Renji's shoulders, and hugged him sideways. It was a little awkward, but Renji was absurdly glad for it. "Some of us don't have your way with words. Do you think he likes you the same way?"

"I have no idea." Renji leaned his head on Sanada's shoulder. "Thanks for not freaking out."

\--

Niou's mother was short, and slightly plump, and smiled a lot, and Renji had not expected her to be at home when Niou suggested both he and Yagyuu go over there so they could all study together.

Renji bowed politely, wishing he'd brought a gift with him. "Um, good afternoon, Niou-san."

Yagyuu pushed past him, and -- to Renji's surprise -- hugged Niou's mother, planting an affectionate kiss on her cheek as he did so. "Hello, mother."

Niou put a hand on Renji's shoulder. "Hi, ma. This is Yanagi, from school."

"Of course it is, I recognise him from your tournaments." Niou's mother beamed at Renji. "Welcome."

Renji bowed to her a second time.

"Oops, there he goes again," said Niou, grabbing at the back of Renji's shirt and pulling him upright. "Don't go all stiff, okay? It's not that kind of house, even if Norihide's on a formal kick these days."

"Now, Masaharu, just because _you_ have no manners means I don't appreciate them in others." Niou's mother patted Renji on the cheek lightly. "But in future, no bowing, huh? Young men shouldn't bow so much."

Yagyuu made an amused sound. "Be patient with him. Some of us had it trained into us, you know."

"I suppose I can train him out of it like I trained you." She smiled at Yagyuu with obvious fondness. "Do you boys need anything? Snacks or whatever?"

Niou draped his arm around Renji's shoulders. "Nope. We're going to grab some drinks and go upstairs, if that's okay."

"I hate to tell you this," said Yagyuu, in a conspiratorial tone, opening the fridge, "but after studying, we're probably going to talk about _tennis_."

Niou's mother widened her eyes, in clearly faked horror. "Ugh. How _could_ you, Hiroshi?"

Yagyuu grinned, in a very Niou fashion, and dropped his voice into a low, sinister tone. "Groundstrokes. Drop shots. _Volleys_."

She threw a dishcloth at him, as Niou tugged Renji towards the stairs. "Ugh, disgusting beast. Have fun, boys."

"Right, if you wanna use the desk, it's all yours," said Niou, as they entered his room.

Yagyuu was already kneeling. "Because your desk chair is designed to _hurt_ people. I'd recommend the floor, Yanagi-kun."

Renji sat down, feeling distinctly unsettled. He hadn't really thought how strange it might be, when he'd accepted the invitation to join their study session this evening. Niou with Yagyuu was not the same as Niou alone. He opened his bag.

"Hmm. I'd like to tackle English first, I think," said Niou, leaning over his shoulder and peering into the bag. "Yagyuu's probably already done the essay, though."

Yagyuu nodded, and tossed a sheaf of papers at Niou. "Last night. My notes."

"Great." Niou sat down next to Renji, and flicked through the papers before handing them to Renji. "I can read the book fine but Yagyuu gets, like, the _themes_ and _motifs_ and all that."

Renji nodded. "I wrote a draft but if you don't mind me looking over these, I'm sure it'd be helpful for revisions."

"Help yourself," Yagyuu said, stretching. "I have some work for mathematics."

"You can check against mine when you're done, I did it at lunchtime." Niou shoved his backpack towards Yagyuu. "No peeking, though."

"Really, _you're_ chiding _me_ about cheating? Mr _But-I-hate-history-just-let-me-copy-one-answer-please_?"

Renji was puzzled. "We don't _have_ any maths work to do at the moment."

" _You_ don't. I dragged Yagyuu into an extra credit course, piece of cake but impresses university types."

Yagyuu snorted. "Piece of cake for you, sure. _I_ find it challenging enough."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure Yanagi'd breeze through it," said Niou, thoughtfully. "It's like an eight-week stats speciality thing, I bet you could try picking it up for the next cycle. Hang on, I'll get the intro papers from downstairs, you can have a look."

Renji nodded, and Niou grinned at him.

"Yanagi-kun," said Yagyuu in a low voice, once Niou'd closed the door behind him, "Niou-kun said he told you about his sexuality."

Renji glanced over. Did that mean Niou had told him about Renji too? "Yes, he did."

"I just wanted to thank you for continuing to be his friend."

Renji stared at Yagyuu. "You thought I might not?"

"No, I didn't expect you to cut him off, precisely." Yagyuu gave a thin smile. "But other friends have become _distanced_ after finding out."

Renji thought for a moment, and then plunged forward. "He didn't tell you why he told me? That it's because _I_ like men?"

"Oh." Yagyuu blinked, and then pushed his glasses back up his nose, frowning. "No. He didn't. And do..."

They heard footsteps on the stairs, and bent back over their books hurriedly, before Niou entered.

\--

If it had been weird going to Niou's with Yagyuu there, it was even stranger going over to Yagyuu's on his own. The invitation had been obviously non-declinable, however.

Yagyuu folded out his Go board, and smiled politely. "Let's start with giving you two stones, and black, and I'll take just a half-point in compensation at the end. I suspect you're better than that, so we'll re-evaluate after this game."

Renji nodded.

After a while, Renji came to the conclusion that Yagyuu's level was roughly on a par with Yukimura's; both of them surprisingly fluid and confident. And both noticeably impatient when he dithered over his options.

"Yes, we play against each other quite often," Yagyuu said, when Renji voiced the thought. "It's convenient, to have someone on your level."

Renji placed his next stone, nodding.

Yagyuu followed with the next stone in a sequence that Renji recognised. "And on the topic of _similarity--_ "

"Indeed." Renji set down his stone. "I would be a hypocrite if I'd withdrawn from my friendship with Niou over _that_."

"May I ask what prompted you to tell him?"

Renji bit his lip, watching Yagyuu set down his stone precisely. "There were rumours about Niou, and it made Seiichi curious about _me_."

Yagyuu's mouth narrowed, and he nodded.

Renji paused. "Seiichi also apologised for gossiping, when I objected."

"I see." Yagyuu tapped the board, indicating that Renji should play. "Am I to infer that you are infatuated with Niou-kun?"

Renji blinked, and put down his stone without thinking. "I didn't _confess_ to Niou; I asked him for advice."

"I see." Yagyuu hesitated, his stone held in mid-air. "That's not a no, Yanagi-kun."

"I -- Niou told me that dating friends doesn't end well."

Yagyuu set down his stone, firmly. "I see. Kisawa-kun wasn't actually attracted to men, however. And he was a moron, not that Niou-kun would agree with me."

Renji stared at Yagyuu. "Do you _want_ me and Niou to be involved?"

"I merely refuse to let that _idiot_ have any influence on his life." Yagyuu gestured at the bowl. "Play."

Renji picked up another stone, and tried to focus on the board.

"I have to ask: is Niou-kun the first boy you've been attracted to?"

"No." Renji set down his stone. "I think not, in retrospect."

"And are you attracted to him for himself, or because you already know he's attracted to men?" Yagyuu set his stone down fluidly, disrupting the pattern Renji thought was being followed. "I mean no disrespect, but I get the impression he's the only person you know personally who is."

Renji frowned, both at the board and at Yagyuu's words. "I... I'm not sure. Perhaps a little of both." He made the obvious move open to him, capturing a stone.

Yagyuu smiled, and placed a stone in the opened spot; doing so gained him three stones and made Renji groan at missing the setup. "I suspect you're not giving this game your full attention, Yanagi-kun."

"Really," said Renji, dryly. "I can't imagine why."

Yagyuu pushed aside his bowl of stones, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "Let me be blunt with you, then. I will not countenance Niou-kun being treated as an _experiment_."

Yagyuu's face was calm, and he kept that faint smile on it, and Renji suddenly remembered Sanada saying that he found Yagyuu in a vindictive mood more terrifying as an opponent than Yukimura. "I wouldn't."

"Good." Yagyuu's smile softened slightly. "You might have trouble convincing him that he is not an experiment, however."

"I... I hadn't seriously thought about actually _acting_ on my attraction, you realise."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because he's _Niou_ , and it would be very strange? And because he's shown no interest in me?"

Yagyuu shrugged. "I'm not sure I agree, on either count." He gestured to Renji's bowl. "But I suppose, in the end, it's up to you. Play on."


	2. Chapter 2

Niou was sprawled on Renji's carpet, headphones over his ears, his eyes closed. He looked pretty relaxed, though Renji suspected rather a lot of that was faked rather than genuine comfort.

Yukimura was trying not to look at Niou, but the little sidelong glances he kept giving Renji felt _pointed_.

" _Don't mind me_ ," Niou'd said, on finding Yukimura there for a study session. " _I just wanted to borrow that shamisen-y CD you were raving about the other day_."

" _Stay here and listen to it, if you want._ "

Niou'd peered over Renji's shoulder, at Yukimura. " _You guys are studying, though, it'll distract you._ "

" _I have headphones, and we'll be done soon._ "

Niou had acquiesced, and Renji would estimate that the CD was probably about halfway through by now. And Niou was listening very quietly and without much fidgeting; it _should_ have been easy to ignore him over there.

But it wasn't. Renji was hyperaware of every tiny movement Niou made; every shift in posture, the way his breathing made his chest move, the way his eyelids would flutter open every so often. Yukimura might be sneaking glances out of curiosity, but Renji was pretty sure _he_ was broadcasting his own urge to just stare right now. It wasn't like Niou was particularly good-looking, even. Was he?

He put down his pen, carefully. "I think I'm done with this for today."

Yukimura looked relieved. "Ah? Yes, me too." He folded up his essay, and smiled ruefully. "I can't concentrate, sorry."

Renji reached out an arm, and tapped Niou on the leg. "Hey."

Niou sat up, tugging out one earphone. "You guys done already?"

"Yes." Renji glanced over at Yukimura. "Should I go fetch some drinks for us?"

Yukimura stood, and stretched. "No, no, I'll go. I need to take a bathroom break anyway."

Niou stared at Yukimura's back as he left the room. "Uh, so, pretty good CD so far."

"You should trust my judgment." Renji started stacking up his textbooks. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Seiichi is, and my mother won't mind cooking for three of us."

"Uh, I might pass." Niou shrugged. "I kind of feel like I'm intruding already."

"I doubt Seiichi minds, and I certainly don't." Renji stood up, and put his textbooks back on the desk. "You're welcome here."

Niou tipped his head to one side, and pulled a face. "I should've sent you a text or something though. I sometimes forget other people have lives. Mostly 'cause Yagyuu's a fucking hermit if left to himself."

"Are you going to make me keep assuring you it's fine?"

"Ah, one more time, maybe." Niou grinned. "I'll stay for a bit, then. But I _will_ pass on dinner, all the same." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Also, um, are you free after school on Saturday?"

"I... yes, probably?"

"Feel like taking a trip to Tokyo?"

\--

"It's not a _date_ ," said Renji, that Friday.

Sanada was poking through Renji's closet. "It _might_ be, even you admitted it."

Yukimura nodded, and caught the flimsy white shirt that Sanada tossed at him, then regarded it thoughtfully. "Even if it's not, you should still look good, right? I bet Niou'll dress up a bit."

Renji gave up. "Please at least pick things that don't make it look like I _think_ it's a date."

Yukimura tossed the shirt back to Sanada with a sigh.

\--

"Yo," said Niou, suddenly appearing at Renji's elbow. "You all set?"

Renji nodded, taking in Niou's appearance. His own school uniform was stowed in his bag, and he'd managed to bargain Seiichi and Genichirou into letting him wear something fairly understated; jeans and a loose shirt over a t-shirt.

Niou, on the other hand, had clearly felt no such restraint; there were tears and zips all over his t-shirt, a thin drapey cardigan-ish thing over that, chains dangling from his trousers, and a frilly scarf around his neck. It looked... expensively trashy, on the whole. He grinned at Renji's expression, as if acknowledging the impact. "Right. Then let's go."

The train was a local one, and they found seats at one end. Somewhat to Renji's surprise, Niou hauled out a notepad and started doodling in it, headphones shoved in his ears; Renji had been expecting conversation. He shrugged, and pulled out the novel he was reading instead.

They changed in Yokohama; this train was busier, and they stood at one end of a rather full carriage. Niou kept scowling over his shoulder at the blank-looking salaryman behind him, until Renji leaned in and asked in a murmur what was wrong.

"He _stinks_ ," Niou mouthed, pulling a face.

Renji suppressed a laugh, and picked up the end of Niou's scarf, holding it across Niou's mouth jokingly. He was close enough that doing so sent a waft of pleasant scent floating towards him; warm woods and some sort of spice. He blinked, surprised; Niou was wearing cologne?

Niou's eyes narrowed in a smile, and he pulled the scarf down long enough to mouth _good idea_ before pulling it back up again, tugging it out of Renji's grip in the process.

Renji dropped his hand, rubbing his fingers together, wondering if they'd smell of wood and spice too now.

Once safely arrived, they sat in a tiny booth in a conveyor-belt sushi place near the station, and Niou pulled out a little map-book-thing. "Hm, so. Anywhere you _desperately_ want to go while we're here? A big bookshop or stationery store or something?"

"If you wouldn't mind?"

Niou shook his head. "I dragged you here, least I can do is spot you a couple of shops." He frowned at his map, and flipped the page over. "The music store I want to go to is just round the corner, and I'd like to look at trainers."

"Sounds fine to me." Renji reached for a bowl from the belt. "I wasn't really sure what you had in mind, for today."

"Uh." Niou glanced up, and then back down at his map. "I _sort_ of figured I could take you to places that sell gay porn, 'cause god knows you can't find it in Minami-ku without risking someone's parents seeing you."

Renji blinked. "Oh, god."

"But that, yeah, may embarrass the fuck out of us both." Niou scratched at the back of his head. "I'm not actually saying you need my help finding that stuff, here. I want some, and I hate going alone. Too many creepy old guys around."

"And you'd rather take me than Yagyuu?"

Niou laughed. "Yeah, he puts up with a lot but it's, well, he says he's going to go blind if I make him see more cock." He gave Renji an assessing look. "Otherwise I do have legit shopping to do, or we could go see a movie or hit up an arcade or something. You decide and tell me. No rush."

It took two bookstores, two sports shops, and four music stores before Renji finally tugged on Niou's sleeve and said, "Alright, let's do your _other_ shopping." 

About thirty minutes later Niou was gesturing vaguely at the entry of a shop in Shinjuku. They exchanged one mutually-embarrassed look once inside, and then Niou shrugged. "Well. Two ways we can do this. Either we giggle over everything stupidly together like kids, or we pretend we're strangers until we're back outside."

"Sorry, do I know you?"

Niou grinned. "Attaboy." He span on his heel, and strode over to a shelf full of DVDs.

Renji swallowed, and then looked around. Magazines. That seemed like the easier option. There were shelves and shelves of them, swathed in plastic; he steeled himself and approached the nearest display.

It was quickly apparent that Niou had furnished him with something at the _tamer_ end of the market. Even with their plastic covers obscuring the details, most of them seemed oddly _specific_ , catering for people with a far clearer grasp of their own preferences than Renji had managed so far. He found some slightly less precisely focused options towards one end, and -- after hesitating for a moment -- took two different magazines off the shelf. They both seemed… interesting enough. Maybe he should just buy both of them.

A movement to his left caught his eye; Niou, crouching to look at the shelves closer to the ground. Renji edged away slightly, looked around at the other options in the shop, and then concluded that _films_ would be a significant step beyond his comfort zone for now. He took another quick glance around, and went to pay for his selections.

Niou joined him outside a few minutes later. "You okay?"

"Yes." Renji indicated his satchel. "And, uh, all set for a while."

Niou laughed, and held up a plastic bag. "Me too," he said, pulling off his rucksack and shoving the whole of the plastic bag into it unceremoniously. "Mission accomplished. What now? Arcade, movie, more shops, buying cheap alcohol and getting drunk in a park somewhere?"

"You've done that?"

"Only once. It's overrated." Niou looked around, then elbowed Renji and pointed across the road. "We can get hyped up on sugary coffee instead, that's way more fun. C'mon."

\--

"You bought _porn_."

Renji nodded, pretty sure he was bright red now he'd admitted that.

Yukimura's eyes were round and amazed. "You _dark_ horse. You went all the way to Tokyo with Niou just to buy porn."

"We were in one shop for maybe ten minutes. It wasn't the only thing we did."

"Can I see what you got?"

Renji glared at Yukimura, horrified. "No!"

"Aw. Niou gets to see what kind of porn you like, and I don't?"

"Niou didn't get to see either, thank you. We didn't buy it _together_."

Yukimura pouted exaggeratedly. "Well, I guess you were right that it wasn't a date. You don't buy _that_ on a date."

"I did say it wasn't."

"Here I was having visions of you two sharing ice cream, holding hands under the table, getting pressed up against each other on the trains." Yukimura sighed. "Spoil my dreams, why don't you."

Renji thought about the smell of Niou's scarf, and smiled despite himself. "Why are you so invested in this?"

Yukimura sighed again, and leaned his head against Renji's shoulder. "It would just be _neat_ , you know? To have you two hook up. _Convenient_. Then I wouldn't need to worry about either of you."

"You worry about Niou?"

"Of course." Yukimura straightened up, and winked at Renji. "He's part of my team too, after all."

\--

Kirihara in an anxious mood was a thinly-repressed bundle of destructive energy, in Renji's opinion.

Usually that was absolutely fine -- or manageable, at least -- but today he kept poking around on Renji's shelves and Renji _really_ didn't want him to stumble across _those_ magazines, and they weren't so well hidden that he wouldn't find them if he kept pulling out random books to look at the covers.

"Akaya, I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do," said Kirihara, plucking out a volume of poetry and flicking through it idly. "I just-- senpai, are these love poems?"

Renji peered over his shoulder. "Some of them, yes." He pulled the book from Kirihara's grasp, and flicked forward a few pages. "And poems about war, and Japan, and summer, and a host of other things."

Kirihara pulled out another book, apparently at random. "I don't understand the point of love poems. Saki-chan keeps pinning ones from a book up inside her desk." He opened the book, and frowned. "But they're all just fancy ways of saying you _like_ someone. Can't girls just be happy with that?"

"Is Saki-chan your girlfriend?"

Kirihara nearly dropped the book. "No. She's just a girl in my class. I want to ask Chiyo-chan out, but she listens to Saki-chan so she probably expects all that poetry and romance stuff too."

"Okay." Renji slid the first book back into the shelf. "So, you want... girl advice."

Kirihara gave him a pleading look. "Please?"

"I'm not sure I'm going to be very good at this, but I'll try." Renji gestured to his floor mat. "Sit down, tell me about her."

"The thing is," said Kirihara, flopping himself down, "is, well, Chiyo-chan is really sweet and cute and all that, y'know? But she's really unsure of herself, so she pays way too much attention to how girls like Saki-chan tell her she should behave."

"Oh."

"She's great when she's not around them." Kirihara stared at the table. "I _really_ like her, Yanagi-senpai."

"Does she like you?"

"I think so?" Kirihara pulled an endearingly uncertain face. "I mean, she thinks I'm funny, and she gave me her phone number. That's good, right?"

Renji nodded.

"It's just -- I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Ask her to go to a movie or something? But if I just ask then Saki-chan will tell her I don't care enough and to say no."

"And you think I can help you?"

"I need to write a romantic letter asking her on a date. Please?"

Renji repressed the urge to rub at his eyebrows; there was a headache forming just above the bridge of his nose. "Right. Get a pen, then."

It took a good half-hour of drafting and re-drafting before Kirihara said, "I think that's okay. Isn't it?"

Renji frowned at it. "I... maybe?"

"If you were a girl, would it work on you? If a guy you maybe liked a bit already gave you that?"

Renji looked at the letter, trying to imagine seeing it for the first time. It was a bit abrupt and clumsy, but then Kirihara wasn't ever given to fancy words so the fact that it wasn't a blunt 'go out with me' was probably going to be impressive enough to this girl. And he'd said nice things about her eyes and her hair and her smile, and girls always seemed to like that stuff. He shrugged. "Probably?"

Kirihara tipped his head to one side. "I thought you might have written a letter like this before."

"No, never." Renji considered the letter. "I... it's obvious that you mean it, I think, and that's going to do most of the work for you. Poetry's a nice idea, but I think she'd prefer something heartfelt to something that was all words and no meaning."

"Huh." Kirihara took a sheet of new paper out, and started copying it out fresh. "You've never wanted to ask a girl out?"

"I have, but not by letter," Renji said. "It's a nice way of doing it, though. Maybe some day, when I meet the right person."

Kirihara glanced at him, and then smiled. "I hope it's soon, senpai. Even if she says no, it's kind of nice just to be around someone you like."

\--

"I promised your brother a game tonight," said Yagyuu, putting his hand over his mouth as he yawned. "If you don't mind me abandoning you two?"

Niou shook his head, still humming vaguely under his breath. Yagyuu gave Renji a small smile, and left them to it.

"Huh, I still can't believe she's actually making us translate from _man'yōgana_."

"I'd have thought you'd relish this," said Renji, genuinely amused. "It's like code-breaking, I think."

"Enh. Feels like a waste of time, though; we could just look up the modern versions of the text, y'know." Niou made a face. "I am _never_ going to need to know this after school."

"Knowledge is never a waste," said Renji. "Besides, you only have two more lines to go, you'll be fine."

Niou muttered under his breath, but struggled through the last two lines; Renji was ahead of him by a few characters. They compared their versions, and they matched closely enough that both seemed reasonable.

"Ugh, can we take a break now?" Niou flopped backwards, onto the futon behind them. "Maybe come back to _this_ century?"

"Not for long. We do also have history to cover."

"Smartass." Niou reached up above his head, and grabbed a remote control from his desk before sitting up. "So, _he_ wanted to try and switch on you this evening."

Renji blinked. This was definitely Niou, despite the moment of sudden doubt that hit Renji like a blow; Yagyuu's imitation was pretty good but it wasn't quite _this_ good. "Why didn't you?"

"C'mon, you know us both too well to fall for it offcourt." Niou flicked the TV on. "Besides, I dunno, I don't really want to try and screw with your head, it'd piss you off too much."

"Thanks."

"Seriously." Niou's gaze flicked to Renji's face for a moment, then back to the TV. "You're kind of a nerd, but I like having you around."

Renji tucked away that compliment to turn over later. "Why'd he want to switch?"

"Curiosity, I think." Niou propped his elbows on the low table, and rested his chin on his hands. "You should have heard the questions about Tokyo."

"I ended up admitting we'd gone to buy porn, when Seiichi asked."

Niou's eyes went very wide, and then he laughed, sort of awkwardly. "Ah, fuck, well now I won't be able to look _him_ in the face for a while, huh."

"He asked to see it."

"Geez, even Yagyuu's not that nosy." Niou thought for a moment. "Actually, he was at one point, but that was back when me liking guys was a big novelty for him. Now he just rolls his eyes at it."

"I'm afraid this is all still entertainingly new for Seiichi and Genichirou."

"If you ever show those magazines to Sanada, I _beg_ you to take a video of his reaction." Niou stretched, and then made a strange, half-amused sound. "Neither of them took the whole _I like guys_ thing badly, huh? That's good."

"We're friends."

"That's hardly a guarantee of anything. I bet you haven't told _all_ your friends."

Renji thought about his oldest friend, who'd be _far_ too full of questions, and felt his face flush a little at the realisation that he hadn't even _considered_ telling Sadaharu about this. And then there was Kirihara, and the idea of explaining this to him just _hurt_ somehow. "It's not been appropriate to tell some of them yet."

"Right, of course." Niou gave him a knowing grin, then ducked his head as if inspecting the remote control in his hand. "You tell yourself that."

Renji stared at the top of Niou's head for a moment, searching for a way to end the conversation without letting Niou get the last word. "Your roots are showing," he said, finally, suppressing a smile when Niou's head snapped back up in response.

"Yeah? I guess it's about time to go back to the bottle."

"I'm amazed your hair hasn't fallen out by now."

Niou made a long-suffering face. "You sound like Yagyuu. Actually, you wanna do it? You get a spiffy pair of rubber gloves to wear and everything."

Renji blinked. Niou was... asking him to help him colour his hair? That seemed oddly intimate. "I'm not sure I'd have the faintest clue how to help."

"Putting bleach on the black bits tends to do it." Niou shrugged. "I just can't see the back very well myself, so it helps if someone else does it. Besides, I need to stop asking Yagyuu."

That sounded like there was a story there. "Does he mind?"

"No, but... look, you've known me and him for ages. I know we're sort of _weird_ , okay? He's probably the most important person in my world, for a whole bunch of reasons, none of which are, y'know, sexy ones. But it makes guys I date really confused."

"I can see that."

"And Yagyuu's girls get a bit unhappy about me, though that takes a bit longer. In a way it's kind of hilarious to watch them glare, but, well." Niou scratched at his nose, and then slumped onto the table. "My ex said that dating me was kinda like being a mistress; Yagyuu's taken all the _boyfriend_ space that isn't physical."

"Does Yagyuu know you feel this way?"

"Yeah, but he thinks _they_ \-- the guys, the girls, everyone -- all need to readjust their expectations, not that we need to change how we act. Maybe he's right?" 

Niou's tone only made it sound halfway to a question, but that was still a more direct plea for advice than Renji'd ever heard from Niou. "I don't think there's anything wrong with your friendship, as it is."

"Hm." Niou gave Renji a lopsided grin. "You're kind of scarily intense about your friends too, though."

"Perhaps." A thought struck Renji. "I think maybe you'll know you've found the right person for you if you want to make extra space for him. And if he's right for you, he'll understand that your best friend is that important to you."

Niou's eyes narrowed, then he laughed. "Ha, well, let's hope. _I_ still think I should try and get used to not having Yagyuu around _all_ the time. Which means you get stylist duty."

\--

Renji hadn't ever been into a bathroom quite so _feminine_ before. For some reason, Niou's sister's tiny personal bathroom was apparently the best place for all hair experiments. Possibly because the tiny flower stickers everywhere (apparently a relic of her younger years) meant that bleach and dye everywhere couldn't actually make it look any worse. It smelt strongly floral, which mingled with the scent of peroxide and made Renji feel vaguely light-headed.

Niou -- who Renji was pretending was not in fact half-naked and shower-fresh and disturbingly close, because this was _not the time_ to have inconvenient reactions - perched on the edge of the half-bath in just his sweatpants, his damp hair hanging loose around his face as he mixed powder and liquid together in a plastic tray. Apparently satisfied with the result after a while, he handed the tray to Renji.

"Right. Go for it."

"Are you _sure_ you shouldn't go to a real salon for this?"

Niou's lips curved into something between amusement and disapproval. He turned to the mirror above the sink. "How about I do the front, then you take over, hmm?"

\--

Yagyuu pursed his lips thoughtfully, and set down his stone. "I have a question."

Renji frowned. Unless he was miscalculating, he'd most likely have enough liberties for any semeai that could occur at this point. He set down his stone, trying to work out if he should begin more aggressive endgame tactics now or consolidate his position first. "I'm not promising to answer."

"I suppose that may be answer enough," Renji glanced up to see Yagyuu adjusting his glasses. "Are you ever going to act on your attraction to Niou-kun?"

"I'm not sure I _can_ answer that."

"But it is a possibility." Yagyuu adjusted his glasses again. "Which means it is time for me to do this, I think."

He leaned forward across the table, tilted his head to one side slightly, almost apologetically, and then pressed his lips against Renji's mouth.

It wasn't a very forceful kiss, but it was definitely a _kiss_ , and Renji was too horrified to react for a moment. Yagyuu was already settling back into his seat across the table before Renji unfroze.

"What... why?" Renji scrubbed at his lips with the back of his hand. "What prompted that?"

"My apologies, but I suspect it would be important to Niou-kun."

"You're _kidding_."

"No." Yagyuu directed a calm, level gaze at Renji. "Do you remember me saying that he would not wish to be an experiment? You've kissed another boy now; that bald fact will be a reassurance to him if he asks. The details of whom and where and under what circumstances should be kept vague, of course."

"Is this some sort of hazing process you put his potential partners through?"

Yagyuu smirked, and then placed another stone with unruffled calm. "No, Yanagi-kun. And in case you're wondering, you're the first boy I've ever kissed. Consider us even."

\--

Renji woke suddenly, his dream so vivid in his memory that he lay there for a moment, feeling abruptly bereft.

Teeth nipping gently at the front of his throat. Spice and warm musks filling his nose. Hands, dry and warm and confident, pressing flat against his hips to push him back firmly against a wall, then pinching and stroking at his sides, making him squirm. Lips closing wetly around the lobe of his ear before Niou chuckled, so close the sound rumbled in Renji's ear.

Renji pressed a hand against his neck, allowed himself a moment to _remember_ , and then turned over to try and banish the dream and sleep again.

\--

"Pretty cool, huh?"

They were entirely alone in the planetarium; apparently the Space Centre was technically closed to visitors that day. Niou'd hauled him in through the entrance anyway, past a deliberately oblivious guard, through the corridors and up into the projection room. And now the room was darkened, and constellations swirled slowly overheard.

"I mean, we don't get the whole voice-over shebang like this." Niou sat down on the floor, and patted the space next to him. "But I kinda like it quiet."

"You... you come here a lot?" asked Renji, sitting on the floor.

Niou nodded. "Every so often. The manager used to live in the same apartment block as us, so I used to get free passes to come in, and now all the staff just let me in and out. Sometimes I'd hide out in here when I was skipping class."

Renji looked up. "Strange place to come for a delinquent."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Niou shrug. "It's just a place, really."

Renji decided to mirror Niou's posture, leaning back against a seat so he could see without craning his neck. He stared up at a galaxy, sparkling above. "I used to love my telescope as a child. I had constellation maps and charts, and used to pore over them for hours."

"You still have one on your wall. I have _been_ to your room, you know."

Renji turned his head to see Niou grinning at him. 

"Now, _personally_ , this is still basically just pretty lights to me. I can pick out like two constellations and a handful of stars. But I bet you know _tons_ , huh." Niou shuffled sideways, so their shoulders were touching, and Renji felt a jolt shoot through him at the contact. He decided to ignore it; it was a lot easier to point out things if you were close and Niou's grasp of personal space had always been a bit _off_. "So c'mon, dazzle me, data man. I know _that_ is the cross -- the swan, right? -- right up there. Show me another."

Renji tried to orient himself. "Well, there's Antares, the red star. So that, there, the hook shape--" and he pointed"--is _Sasori_ , the scorpion."

Niou nodded, and leaned against Renji. "Another. That star?"

"Uh. That's Altair. It's part of _Washi_ , not that it looks that much like an eagle. And then those stars there, the rectangle with the tail, just next to it, that's the dolphin."

"Huh. Pretty impressive."

"You'd be able to reel these off too if you'd ever studied them. There's a lot fewer stars than there are possible games of Go, for instance."

Niou shrugged. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it." He looked down at his hands, as if thinking, but didn't shift his weight away. "Hey, did you decide to do that extra credit course?"

"Ah, yes, thanks. You were right, it's pretty straightforward." Renji felt distinctly off-balance; even for Niou, the question seemed out of nowhere.

Niou looked up again, and gestured vaguely. "What about that star?"

"Vega," Renji said -- partly a guess, since Niou's gesture took in quite a chunk of the sky. Niou's weight against his side wasn't _heavy_ , but it felt like there was a meaning behind it. He didn't dare assume it was flirtation. "Have you been graded for your extra course yet?"

"Mm. Aced it." Niou leant away, and reached into his bag. "Been looking at colleges, actually. I always kind of thought I'd end up in Kyoto, but I don't know any more. You're aiming for Todai, right?"

Todai. Being a grown man at last, and an apartment -- probably with Sadaharu as his fellow academic -- and losing himself in the comforting embrace of numbers and facts. "That was always my dream."

Niou leant back against him, and handed him a few pamphlets. "Yagyuu's been yammering on about studying up in Utsunomiya, fuck knows why. Everyone else I know seems to want to stay in Kantou somewhere, mostly Tokyo-ish, so I asked Kitayama-sensei for some advice."

Renji glanced down at the top leaflet, and then flipped through the stack. "Hmm. These are very prestigious."

"You don't have to sound quite so surprised."

"No, I know, you could certainly get into any of them if you wanted. But do you want to go to this kind of place?" Renji bit at his lip, trying to be careful how he phrased his immediate thought. "You could go to a less impressive place, and not have to lift a finger in effort for the whole time you're there, if you wanted."

"Hmm." Niou took the pamphlets back, and shuffled them thoughtfully. "That has a certain louche appeal. And you're right; I could go to a less challenging university, get a good enough degree for some future job, coast for the whole time, kick back and spend my student days being the campus playboy."

"But you want to be challenged."

"I like having to think." Niou glanced at him, and then stuffed the pamphlets back in his bag. "It's why I like being around clever people."

Renji nodded. "Well then, there'll be plenty in these schools. Aim high."

"I always do." Niou leaned against him again, and grinned up at the starscape. "C'mon. Show me more."

\--

"If it were me," said Yukimura, apparently _almost_ entirely distracted by the lower leaves of the plant he was inspecting, "I'd have kissed him."

"I didn't think you liked boys that way," said Renji, because it was probably expected, and Yukimura's immediate snort confirmed it. "and besides, it wasn't a date."

"Sounds like a date." Yukimura snipped a leaf off the plant. "All alone under the stars. Romantic."

Since the same thought had occurred to Renji, he couldn't really object. "I _think_ he's considering the idea carefully, actually."

Yukimura looked up. "Specifically?"

"I think he knows that I'm attracted, that's not the issue. I think he wants to see if I'd be worth it, and if I think _he'd_ be worth it."

"I don't know why it's all so complicated." Sanada finally spoke up. "If you both like each other. This dancing around each other seems like a waste of time to me."

" _Niou_ is complicated." Renji thought about it. "And so am I. Attraction itself isn't sufficient. There's no rush."

\--

"Is that Niou's sister?"

Renji looked up, and out of the window. Saeka -- her hair a slightly less unnatural shade than Niou's, but only by a matter of degree -- was standing on the other side of the road. He waved, then realised she might not even see him -- but she had, and she squinted in curiosity, and then waved as she recognised him. "Yes, that's her."

Saeka approached the window, and smiled, and pointed at her wrist in an apologetic gesture before heading off towards the city center.

Marui made an appreciative noise. "Yow. She's _hot_."

Renji tilted his head to one side, watching her walk away, wondering if he agreed. He thought she was pretty enough, but her features were too soft to give her the same strikingness that Niou had. "She's a bit old for you."

"Hey, you know what they say about older girls." Marui grinned, half-turned in his seat and also watching Saeka. "Shame she's Niou's sister."

"Because you'd automatically stand a chance if she wasn't? Hmm." Renji pointed back at the books open between them. "Did you want me to help you or not?"

"Yeah, yeah." Marui turned back, and looked down at the book. "Damn, though, older girls are just _cool_."

"The translation, Marui."

" _'It wasn't useful to understand_ '. I mean, I'm not saying her specifically, but, you know, they're all experienced and shit."

"' _Necessary_ ', I think. Not ' _useful_ '." Renji tapped the word. "I thought you liked innocent, sweet girls?"

Marui scribbled furiously over the words he was changing. "Oh, eh. Sometimes that's nice. But a girl as hot as that, the experience is exciting. And she's got _mystery_."

Renji sighed. "She's pretty, but her room stinks of jasmine and when she thinks nobody's looking she chews on her hair. And she has tiny flower stickers all over her bathroom. And a big Hello Kitty poster over her bed. Don't let the glamour fool you." He tapped on the book again. "Now can we get back to this?"

Marui pulled a face, and then darted a sly glance up at Renji. "You spend a lot of time over at Niou's now, huh."

"Mmhmm. Translation?"

"' _She raised her hand to the light_.'" Renji nodded, and Marui continued. "' _I saw the shadow against her face_.'"

"I think you just mean ' _on_ '."

Marui frowned, and then corrected his version. "But seriously, you and Niou being buds, kind of makes the rest of us a bit nervous."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah. Yagyuu's smart and all, but _you_... know _everything_. Niou with your data on all of us?" Marui shivered ostentatiously. "Brr. Creepy thought."

"You assume I'd share my data?"

"No, I assume Niou'd steal it." Marui winked, and then turned his attention back to the page. "Right, okay. ' _Her breathing was slow and steady. She smiled sadly and left the room_.'"

"I might go with ' _calm_ ', there." Renji steepled his fingers under his chin. "And I think I like the idea of making people nervous."

"Yeah, that's what I mean, right there," said Marui, cheerfully, drawing a line through ' _slow_ '. "You are _definitely_ spending too much time with Niou."

\--

"Want to go to Tokyo this weekend?"

Renji looked up from the board between them; Niou'd consented to a game of Gomoku (and had dug out a tatty old vinyl rollout board and some cheap plastic stones; Renji would bet _quite_ a lot of money that Niou had obtained this set just to make some kind of point). He was -- _predictably_ \-- defeating Renji quite handily. He frowned. Tokyo. How often did Niou need new fantasy fodder? "Already?"

Niou's eyes narrowed in confusion, and then he snorted. "Shit, I didn't mean for _porn_. Though we could do that too if you want. There's actually an exhibition I wanted to go see at the modern art museum."

"Oh. You like modern art?"

Niou shrugged. "A friend of the family has a few pieces in it. His stuff's usually quite funky, weird glass sculpture and metal spirals and so on." He grinned. "It's probably completely _not_ your thing, come to think of it."

Renji put down his stone. "I'll come. You'll have to tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at, though."

"Awesome." Niou glanced at the board, and set down his stone. "If it helps, right now, you're looking at a loss."

\--

"Kamakura."

"Yes."

" _Seriously_? What the fuck for, suddenly developed a need to see old temples?"

"Something like that."

\--

"C'mon, it'll be a blast."

"Is there any _specific_ reason why I should want to accompany you?"

"Just the pleasure of my company. Seriously, just trust me, okay?"

\--

"Four weekends in a row, Renji." Yukimura shook his head. "People will talk."

"I've spent more weekends in a row with you before, and with Genichirou."

"And people talked about that. Did you not realise we all were in a complicated love triangle which doomed at least one of us to perpetual sadness? Tsk."

Renji sighed, and checked the tea; not quite ready yet. "Are you feeling neglected?"

"Huh? No, not especially."

"Then I don't really see why it bothers you so much."

\--

Niou was sprawled across Renji's futon. This time, on his front, his feet kicked up behind him, his head propped up on his hands, reading Renji's geography textbook with an expression that spoke of mild disdain for the whole subject.

Renji was sitting so his back was against the wall next to the futon, determinedly trying to read anything in his literature notes. He wasn't succeeding very well. Every time he managed to focus, Niou twitched his foot or idly blew his fringe out of his eyes or shifted his weight subtly.

In the end, Renji set his notes aside and allowed himself to just watch Niou, since Niou seemed distracted enough by the book.

His dreams about Niou were less startlingly vivid now, but they occurred with alarming regularity. Parts of Renji's brain had apparently spent a lot of time quietly tabulating details Renji wasn't certain had any place being noted. Like: the curve of Niou's back, and the depth of the hollows in his collarbone, and the length of his eyelashes, and the faintly cracked-looking surface of his lips.

"Just ask, data man," said Niou after a few moments, without looking up.

Renji closed his eyes. "Can we go out somewhere tomorrow evening? I know it's a school-night."

He heard a vague rustling sound, as if Niou was shifting position. "Where do you want to go?"

Renji took a breath. "On a date."

There was silence. He opened one eye, cautiously, to see Niou now sitting cross-legged on the futon and giving him a look he couldn't actually decipher. It seemed to be a mix of amusement and wariness.

"Please?" he added, opening his other eye.

Niou's expression stayed precisely the same. "Look, if you're just wanting to fool about a bit, then we could always--"

"--no." Renji held Niou's gaze. "I want a _date_."

"Right. How would that be different from the times we've hung out recently, exactly?"

"Lots of ways." Renji thought for a moment. "Intent, I suppose. Romance, for lack of a better word."

Niou tipped his head back, so he was looking up at the ceiling. "Romance, huh? I guess it's worth a shot. With one condition, though."

"Which is?"

"You don't tell _anyone_." He snapped his head back up, his expression serious. "This isn't me being ashamed, but _if_ we're going to do anything like that then it's between us, not our various meddling friends."

Renji nodded.

"Then, fine, a date." Niou sat back up again, and folded his hands neatly in his lap. "Where?"

"I don't know. I've only really gone on two dates before, and neither of them were especially great," Renji admitted. "We could go see a movie or something?"

\--

A few songs into the concert -- some relatively sweet-sounding girl singer that Renji didn't recognise, singing in a tiny little hall in Shin-Yokohama -- Renji felt Niou's hand brush against his. When Niou repeated the gesture a few seconds later, Renji allowed their fingers to tangle together. It felt absurdly satisfying, like a jolt of confirmation.

When he glanced sideways, Niou looked like he was trying to suppress his amusement. Renji couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.

After another song, Niou leant firmly against him, and murmured, "So after her, there's a band who are kinda shit, then another singer I don't know. I figure we can go get something to eat, come back later for the last band?"

"You're in charge." Niou was wearing his frilly scarf again, though his outfit was otherwise rather restrained. Renji wondered if that wood-spice scent was inherent in the scarf or if Niou actually wore cologne sometimes. Either way, the smell was doing pleasant things to Renji's hormones.

Niou squeezed his hand, then let go. "And you're buying dinner."

The little family restaurant they ended up in was busy and anonymous. Which meant that, after they'd eaten, Renji could reach for Niou's hand again under the table and not worry too much who might see.

"Actually," said Niou, fiddling with his straw with the hand that Renji wasn't holding. "I figured I'd be waiting until after graduation for you to _do_ anything."

"Really?"

"Mm. University, I thought." Niou smiled faintly, looking past Renji, into mid-space. "It made sense: space and no supervision and no interfering friends around saying _I think he's eminently well-suited to you_ and all that."

"Ah. I got _why don't you just kiss him_ and _if he makes you happy then why are you wasting time_."

Niou's eyes snapped into focus. "Huh. The idea of _Sanada_ saying either of those about _me_ is a little odd."

"He's been pushing just as hard as Seiichi, in his own way."

"Offputting, isn't it?"

"Mm. A bit." Renji rubbed his thumb in a circle on the back of Niou's hand. "But being contrary just for its own sake is foolish."

"I suppose you have a point." Niou pursed his lips thoughtfully. "But I'd still rather we not broadcast it to them quite yet."

Renji took a sip of his tea, and then carefully let go of Niou's hand. "Should we head back?"

\--

There was something distinctly _odd_ about walking home with Niou and knowing that there was a fair-to-even chance that Niou would kiss him, or would let Renji kiss _him_. They weren't holding hands, but their arms brushed against each other as they walked, and occasionally Niou would lean against him laughingly and that scent would get in Renji's nose, making his head swim pleasantly.

Renji paused at the bus stop around the corner from his house. Niou usually caught the bus home after visiting him. "Um."

Niou glanced up at the sign, and nodded. "Mmm. I suppose that's that, then."

"I'll wait until your bus comes."

Niou grinned at him, and then leaned against the side of the stop. "So very chivalrous. You _could_ invite me back to yours. I could call my parents, make up an excuse to stay over."

"Uh." Renji's stomach felt like it was trying to flip over from nervousness at that thought. "Wouldn't that be moving a bit fast?"

"Hey, I'm not saying I'd put out this soon." Niou held his hand out, and Renji stared at it. "But I'm at least going to get a kiss out of you before you send me chastely home."

Renji took Niou's hand, and allowed Niou to pull him close, closer, until their lips met. It was a gentle kiss, until Niou slid his tongue wickedly along Renji's lower lip. Renji nearly pulled away, but he could _feel_ the grinning curve of Niou's mouth against his and it felt like a challenge. He wrapped his arms around Niou, and pulled him close, opening his mouth eagerly into Niou's kiss and letting the last several weeks of growing _desire_ pour out.

When he released Niou, some minutes later, Niou was distinctly pink and very, very smug-looking. "Huh."

"Not quite that chaste, perhaps," said Renji, bringing one hand up impulsively to touch Niou's flushed cheek. "But I'm still sending you home."

"After that?" Niou pushed up against him meaningfully, and suddenly Renji could feel Niou's erection against his hip. He swallowed dryly, all the wetness in his mouth evaporating. "You're quite the tease, Yanagi."

Renji took a step back, ignoring the response his own body was having, his hand dropping to his side. "Maybe so. I'm afraid that's something you'll have to live with."

Niou opened his mouth, his expression definitely more amused than annoyed -- to Renji's relief -- and then shut it, peering over Renji's shoulder. "You also have great timing. That's my bus."

"I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"That you will." Niou smiled at him, and lifted a hand to brush it against Renji's mouth for a moment. "For the record, I _definitely_ want another date."

\--

Renji sat on his futon, back pressed against the wall, Niou's bare feet in his lap. Niou's ankles were a decent prop for his maths textbook, it turned out.

Niou was lying on his back, _that_ Go book held in one hand, the other hand tucked behind his head.

"Why did you end up with a duplicate, anyway?" asked Renji after a while.

"M'brother bought it." Niou said, turning a page. "Then gave it to me. Not sure why. S'not like I play enough Go to even need one copy, let alone two."

"Maybe he wants to make sure you stay a worthy opponent."

"I don't have to really try to beat him, honestly. He always falls for the same kind of tricks, purported genius or no." Niou lowered the book, and smiled over the top of it. "And Yagyuu does too, even if they're sneakier tricks."

Renji bit his lip for a moment. "Is _everything_ about tricks with you?"

"No. Not everything." Niou sat up, pushing Renji's textbook aside. "Alright. Where's your board?"

Niou beat him by a respectable margin. Renji stared at the board for a while afterwards, trying to work out if he'd done better or worse than expected.

"Problem?" asked Niou, stretching in a way Renji was entirely certain was meant to be distracting. It was; Niou's shirt was open at the collar in a way which showed far too much collarbone to _not_ be distracting.

"Mm." Renji tilted his head, trying to focus on the board. "You said your brother falls for tricks. But I can't even work out which tricks you used."

"Ha." Niou laughed, and gestured to the board. "That's kind of the trick itself: there's not really a trick, but you kept expecting there to be. Doesn't work often, but when it does, it _really_ does."

\---

Yukimura frowned, and handed Renji a receipt. "Is this it?"

Renji checked his list again. "I don't think so. It should be for more than that."

Yukimura rummaged through his wallet again, and shook his head. "I'll check when I get home."

"Alright. But if you don't find it, I can't let you claim it as a club expense, you know that."

"Mm." Yukimura stuffed his wallet back in his bag. "So, are you going to tell me about you and Niou any time soon?"

Renji nearly dropped his list.

"C'mon," said Yukimura, grinning at him as he stood back up. "I can tell something's happened, in a good way. Niou's a decent actor, but I can read _you_ and you're quietly radiating happiness."

"He doesn't want our 'meddling friends' to get involved."

Yukimura stuck his tongue out at that. "I _bet_ he's told Yagyuu, though."

"No, I don't think he has." Renji put the list down on the bench. "Do you know what it's like? To feel like you're being pushed into something, even if it's something you want?"

Yukimura actually looked momentarily stung. "I… alright, fine, I'll back off."

"I know it's because you care." Renji put a hand on Yukimura's shoulder. "For what it's worth, yes, something happened. But it's _private_ , for now. I'll tell you when I'm ready to."

\---

Renji wasn't sure if Niou had genuinely forgotten to lock his door, or if he'd set the evening up so Yagyuu would catch them kissing, or even if Niou and Yagyuu had set up everything between them so that Yagyuu could 'find out'. It didn't really matter, and Renji didn't really mind; they were at least only kissing, nothing more embarrassing. 

Yagyuu simply opened the door, coughed politely, and then closed the door again to allow them to compose themselves. When Niou called him in a minute later, he _smirked_ at them both, and then asked Niou about his composition notes, and had he remembered he needed to fill in the papers for the class trip, and then he _smirked_ again before leaving without saying a word about what he'd walked in on.

Niou sat down heavily on his futon next to Renji, and pulled a wry face. "Well. He's going to be smug for _ages_."

"I'd better make sure to tell Seiichi and Genichirou. If they hear it from him and not me…"

"Yeah, you better had. I kind of like you with all your parts intact."

\---

"Oh, so it's _public_ now," said Yukimura, smirking. "No more 'it's private and none of your business', hm?"

Renji'd invited Sanada and Yukimura outside at lunchtime, to sit under the trees and share their lunches. He really didn't think this conversation should be held anywhere that it might be overheard.

Sanada huffed out an irritated noise. "Don't be ridiculous. Telling us doesn't make it _public_."

Renji smiled at Sanada, a flood of relief passing through him. "My sentiments exactly. Seiichi, try not to gossip about us, _please_."

Yukimura's eyes went very wide. "You think I would?"

"Not on purpose." Renji helped himself to one of Sanada's tofu slices. "But you told me about Niou, if you recall."

"That's entirely different." Yukimura sniffed, and then appeared to think it over. "Alright, point taken. Can I at least be nosy about it now?"

"If you really want." Renji bit into the tofu. "I'm not going to tell you that much though."

"How far have you two gone?"

Sanada went red, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Oh, god. Sorry, but could you not ask that while I'm eating?"

"I thought you were fine with Renji liking a guy." Yukimura brandished his water at Sanada accusingly. "You said it didn't bother you."

"I don't want to picture _Niou_ doing that sort of stuff with anyone." Sanada tipped his hat back up, and shot Renji an apologetic glance. "I'm sure you think he's cute enough and all, but… ugh."

"I'm not sure _cute_ is the word I'd use," said Renji. "Admittedly, partly because I think he'd try to injure me if I did. But he is attractive, in his own particular way. Though perhaps I'm just biased."

Sanada shook his head. "It's no good. He's babbling about his boyfriend's good looks. We've lost him."

"I know." Yukimura heaved a dramatic sigh, and put a hand on Renji's shoulder. "It's adorable. Our boy's in love."

Renji smiled. "Don't marry me off quite yet. But… I'm quietly happy with him, thank you."

\---

Yagyuu _would not_ stop smirking whenever he saw Renji. That lasted about a week, and then he seemed to miraculously regain his self-control.

Renji decided he could live without the knowledge of whatever Niou had used as blackmail. There were some things that he really didn't need to know about Yagyuu.

\---

"You're _sure_ you want to go to Todai," said Niou, thoughtfully, as they waited in line for the school cafeteria to open.

Renji nodded, absentmindedly, his mind on the novel he was reading. About three seconds later, Niou's question actually registered, and he looked up. "Why?"

"I'm applying to Kyoto after all." Niou shrugged, hands jammed deep into his pockets. "Entrance exam's at the end of the month."

Renji swallowed, feeling a sudden stab of horror at the thought of abandonment. "Oh."

Niou dipped his head, and pulled a wry face. "Well. It's not like there's not a train."

"I suppose so." Renji closed his book. "Am I expected to suddenly panic and start thinking about going to Kyoto instead?"

"Nah," Niou glanced at him, and smiled. "You got your dreams, I got mine, that's all."

"Mm. It's a shame they're not in the same place."

Niou leant sideways, and nudged Renji gently with his elbow. "Hey. Look at it this way: It turns out I think you're worth a train journey or two every week."

"Until it gets too expensive, or too much of a hassle, I'm sure."

The cafeteria doors opened, and the line started to move. Renji shuffled forward after the line, but Niou grabbed at his arm. "Hey, you think I'd ditch on seeing you because it was a _hassle_?"

"Not for a while." Renji tugged his elbow free, and moved forward in the line. "But it'll get to you after a few months, I suspect."

Niou's mouth went grim for a moment, then he forced a nasty grin. "You have so much faith in me, huh."

"Masaha--"

"No, _fuck_ you, Yanagi." Niou's voice was too loud, people were starting to take notice. " _You_ didn't even offer to make the journey, did you?"

"I--"

"Maybe we should just drop the whole thing." Niou practically _spat_ the words. "Actually, no _maybe_ about it. Consider it dropped. See you around."

With that, he walked off, back held straight, a swagger to his movements, the picture of righteously indignant pride. Renji swallowed. People were watching to see what would happen. He could hardly chase after Niou now without looking like, well, like a guy chasing after his offended girlfriend. But if he didn't, then Niou might actually _mean_ it about breaking up.

He sighed, tucked his book back into his bag, and followed Niou; to his entire lack of surprise, Niou had headed straight for the roof and the deserted corner behind the big ventilation pipes.

"Fuck off," said Niou, before Renji'd even put his head around the corner.

"No."

"--please," said Niou, and this time Renji caught the tightness in his voice. "Just leave me alone for a bit."

Renji peered around the corner; Niou was sat huddled with his back to the pipes, his arms tightly wrapped around his knees. His face was buried in his arms. Renji sat down next to him, shoulder to shoulder. "After what you said before, I was expecting you to stay in Tokyo. Or Kantou, at least."

Niou made an ugly, spluttering noise into his arms. Renji had to strain to make out his words. "It's my whole fucking future. I can't just think about you."

"No, of course not."

Niou lifted his head; his face was flushed and he was scowling, but he didn't look like he'd actually been crying, to Renji's relief. "Do you think I'm just dating you because it's _easy_? Because you're _here_?"

Renji considered that, and then -- cautiously -- put his arm around Niou's shoulders. "I don't really know why else you'd be dating me."

Niou rolled his eyes, but didn't shake Renji's arm off. "Spare me the humility, data man."

"I'm serious. I know you like intelligence, but I'm not really sure what else about me would--"

"Oh please." Niou rested his chin on his arms. "Don't fish for compliments when I'm angry. Just, it's _not_ just because I thought 'hey, likes guys and convenient, why not', alright?"

"Alright." Renji squeezed Niou's shoulder. "And, likewise. You're important to me."

Niou glanced at him, and huffed out a sigh. "Not important enough for you to think about giving up Todai, though. _Not_ that I'd ask you to; in fact, I'd be pissed if you actually did something that stupid. But still."

"Why Kyoto, anyway? You've never said."

"It's pretty simple really. Mathematics. Todai's department is pretty good, even Waseda's decent. But I want the _best_." Niou's shoulders were relaxing under Renji's arm. "If I want better than Kyoto, I'd have to go to America."

Renji hummed thoughtfully. "I vote for Kyoto. Flying long-haul to see you every weekend would cut into the time I'd have to spend with you."

Niou's mouth curved up, faintly. "Yeah, and you'd hate the food there too."

"Very likely." Renji glanced around; not many people around, and they likely wouldn't see. He took Niou's hand in his free one. "I'm going to have to explain to Sadaharu why I keep running off at weekends."

"The guy from Seigaku?"

"Yes. We always promised we'd live together at Todai one day."

"Wow." Niou grinned, sharply, suddenly. "Fuck, your place is going to be nerd central. You haven't told him about us?"

"I haven't told him I like guys. We don't talk about things like that, really." Renji slipped his fingers between Niou's. "I don't think he'd care really, but he'd ask a lot of questions out of academic curiosity. And he'll ask you, too."

"I can put up with questions. Tell him." Niou stared at Renji's hand. "Shit, I'm starving."

"Yeah." Renji rather wished Niou hadn't decided to bring this whole subject up on a day where he hadn't bought his own lunch. "We can see if there's anything left if you like."

Niou let go of his hand, and then stood up in a fluid movement that shook Renji's arm off his shoulders. "Mm. How much of a rebel are you, data man?"

"Enough to miss my next class, I suppose, since it's only a study period." Renji levered himself up, using the pipes as a support. "Are you going to be missing anything important?"

"Probably." Niou stretched. "I'm not planning on coming back today."

"Ah." Reji looked down at his shoes. "That's perhaps a little more delinquency than is in my nature."

Niou slung an arm around his shoulders, with deliberate casualness, and brought his mouth close to Renji's ear. "Shame. My house is empty this afternoon. Nobody to interrupt us. Sure you're not tempted?"

"Quite seriously so," admitted Renji. They had not, as yet, gone _that_ far, but just kissing Niou could involve whole hours without Renji noticing the passing of time. "But if you _actually_ want to go to Kyoto, you should probably let me be a good influence on you. And since we're on the subject, _my_ house is empty this evening anyway."

Niou pulled his head away slightly, and made an amused sound that sent a puff of air straight down Renji's ear. "Hnn, I should get mad more often. My cock-tease of a boyfriend is actually inviting me over for an evening alone?"

Renji poked Niou in the ribs, making him pull away with a laugh. "Not if you keep calling me _that_. Now, come on, let's go try and get some food while we still have any lunchtime left."

\--

Niou reached out, and grabbed his bag, hauling it up onto the futon next to him.

"I got the housing pre-allocation letter today, by the way. You're in luck; looks like I actually snagged a single room and the buzz is that they turn a blind eye to occasional visitors as long as we don't make too much noise." He dug out some papers and handed them to Renji.

"Hm." Renji flipped through the papers; a couple of official looking ones, a hand-drawn map, and then an actual map of Kyoto folded open with a neat red circle that presumably indicated where Niou's future home would be. He automatically scanned the map, looking for the nearest station.

"Here," said Niou, handing him a subway map, obviously anticipating his thought. "It kind of sucks for our commute; to get there from the shinkansen you have to change a couple of times. It's gonna take like three hours between your place and mine, minimum."

Renji nodded, and shifted himself up the futon to prop himself up on the pillows. "Well, I'm not sure _where_ I'll be yet. Sadaharu knows I want our apartment to be near the shinkansen, and he respects efficiency enough that I'm half-expecting our apartment to be _in_ Tokyo station."

Niou snorted. "Or it'll be right on campus, because he'll figure you'll save enough time daily to make up for the less frequent trip to the station."

"Hm." Renji turned that over in his head. "That sounds quite likely too."

Niou wriggled up so he was pressed against Renji's side, his arm draped across Renji's waist. "And it'd be sensible. You should be near classes."

"It's the cost that's going to be an issue." Renji set the papers down. "I still don't know if I have any scholarships yet, and without one--"

"We'll manage." Niou's hand drifted downwards a little, and he pinched Renji's hip. "Look, maybe you'll fall madly in love with someone else three minutes into your first class. Maybe you'll get hit by a car in your first week. You can't plan for _everything_."

"You think it's weird that I want to give us the best chance of actually making this work long-distance?"

"No. Actually, god help me, I think it's romantic." Niou frowned, looking slightly surprised at his own words. "Fuck, you have _broken me_ , data man, seriously. I never used to give--"

Renji cut him off with a kiss. It seemed like the best option available, really.

\---

Yukimura strung the line of lights over the rack of practise swords, and then stepped back to consider his handiwork. "How's that?"

"I _think_ that's enough," volunteered Sanada, from his position by the edge of the low table that Renji and Niou were playing their game on. "It had better be, anyway. I think that's the last of the lights we have."

"It looks fine, Seiichi," said Renji, without looking up.

Niou snorted, and leaned sideways for a clearer view. "Geez, how do you put up with these two all the time? It needs to go up a bit on the left--higher--yeah, there."

Yukimura taped the lights down, and beamed at Niou. "You're my new favourite. Renji, I'm stealing your man."

"You're not his type," said Renji, and set down his stone.

"Yeah, you tell yourself that," said Niou, grinning at Renji. "You sure that's the move you're making?"

Renji glared at him.

"Fine, fine." Niou placed his stone. "You're going to regret it in about six moves, that's all I'm saying."

Yukimura flipped the main lights off, leaving the dojo bathed only in the twinkling from the reappropriated christmas lights.

"Thanks," said Renji dryly. "Can we finish our game before you plunge us into darkness?"

"Shush, it's romantic." Yukimura flopped down onto the mat next to Sanada, and peered at the board. He nudged Sanada, who was frowning in concentration. "Which of them is winning?"

"It's close, but I'm pretty sure Niou'll win."

Renji sighed. "I'm sure you're right." He set down his stone. "One day I'll actually feel like I'm not dreadful at this."

"Ah, you're decent," said Niou. "I'm just better, that's all." He placed his stone, and stretched. "Four moves."

"Shouldn't the others be here by now?" Yukimura asked, turning to peek through the crack between the dojo doors.

"Yagyuu's going to be late," said Niou, watching Renji set down his next stone. "Bunta's bringing the rookie, so they probably got held up while he buys all the bloody cakes in the shop. No idea about the demon child, though."

"Hm." Yukimura sighed, and then slumped against Sanada's side. "Hey, you guys don't mind being here, do you?"

"Why would we mind?" Niou's stone made a gentle click as he put it on the board. "You throw a leaving party, buchou, you think any of us are going to say no to you?"

"Well, you lovebirds might have wanted an evening alone instead." Yukimura peered at the board. "Renji, seriously, put your next stone _there_ or he'll capture that whole cluster next move."

Renji frowned, but followed Yukimura's suggestion. "You'd have accused me of neglecting you again if I'd told you we were too busy."

"And it would be true. You neglect me terribly."

Sanada snorted, watching Niou place his next stone. "I pity any girl that actually agrees to date you. You'll be the clingiest boyfriend ever."

Niou laughed, and poked Renji -- under the table -- gently with his foot. "Clingy's not so bad."

Renji raised an eyebrow in mild objection to that description, but put down his stone without comment.

"You're going to lose," predicted Yukimura, and he turned to peer out of the gap between the doors again. "Actually, Niou, I kind of thought you'd make him beat you at this game before you agreed to go out with him."

"Nah, I'm not _nearly_ that patient. It would have taken years."

Renji put his hand under the table, and tweaked Niou's toe sharply, making him yelp and yank his foot back towards himself. Niou's leg caught the underside of the table, making all the stones jump off the board with a clatter.

"Ah, _shit_."

Sanada burst into laughter, and Yukimura turned back from the door. "What? What did I miss?"

"Renji made Niou forfeit." Sanada grinned, and patted Renji on the shoulder. "Now there's the Renji I know, finding unexpected ways to turn a defeat into a victory."

\---

The party was in full swing a couple of hours later. 

It had been fairly emotionally heavy going, thought Renji. Kirihara had stammered out a speech about how much he was going to miss his tennis senpais, their little first year ace Akimoto had thanked them all for their advice and help, and Yukimura had made a rather sentimental speech about how much he was going to miss Rikkai.

Renji kept having to remind himself that three of the team _didn't_ know that he and Niou were an item, and that therefore he shouldn't let himself _act_ like they were. Niou draped an arm around his shoulders at one point, in the same casual easy way he'd always done with Yagyuu, and that gave Renji an odd mix of possessive joy and antsy concern.

Eventually Niou pulled at Renji's elbow, in a clear indication of wanting some time to talk alone. They snuck out of the dojo while Sanada and Kirihara were doing a silly kendo-ish playfight with brooms; most of the team were distracted enough not to notice.

There was a little pond further into the enclosure, just around the corner of the dojo. Renji was very aware that they'd be missed very soon. Someone might come looking for them; maybe Yukimura or Yagyuu would make an excuse that would give them a little extra time.

He took Niou's hand anyway, as they sat by the edge of the pond.

"Feeling maudlin?" asked Niou, leaning against him.

"A little." Renji looked up into the sky; the moon was low on the horizon and tinged with yellow. "It's the end of an era, so I think it's permitted."

"Mm. I suppose so."

Renji turned his head. Niou's face was especially washed-out in the moonlight, even his eyes and lips bleached so that he looked ghost-like and eerie. He lifted his free hand to Niou's cheek, relieved to find it warm to the touch.

Niou smiled at him slyly in response and Renji decided he didn't mind _that_ much if they got caught. They kissed until they heard the dojo door slide open and the sound of footsteps clattering onto the walkway outside.

"I guess we've been missed," said Niou, with a sigh.

I guess so." Niou's hair was even more ruffled than usual, and Renji smoothed his fringe back into place gently. "It's going to be strange, living somewhere else. Not seeing these people all the time."

"Freedom. Challenge. New adventures," countered Niou, and he took Renji's hand. "You're thinking of it as an ending, aren't you?"

"As opposed to being just another phase of the game? I suppose so."

"Another phase, pfft." Niou squeezed his hand. "It's an entirely different game. All those new rules to learn, all those new strategies to internalise. All that new _data_ for you to drink up. You're going to be too busy to be sad."

"Ha."

"C'mon, enough moping." Niou stood up, and pulled Renji to his feet. "Let's go be sentimental idiots for a bit. We can start being grown-up and responsible tomorrow."

Renji glanced up at the moon again, and Niou followed his look.

"You know it'll be the same moon in Tokyo. And in Kyoto. You don't need to memorise it, you know. It's not going anywhere."

"But we are, and I want to remember this moment. Alone, with you, with the whole world ahead of us."

Niou grinned, and tipped his head to one side. "Such a romantic."

"One of us should be. Alright, I'm done now, you win."

" _Please_." Niou's grin softened, and he leaned up against Renji lightly for a moment. " _Our_ game has never been about victory. Let's call it a permanent draw, shall we?"

They walked back towards the dojo together, side-by-side, fingers brushing each other but not linked.

A permanent draw. Go discouraged draws; they were considered inelegant, and usually only came about through cycles of repeated plays. Even then, there were rules to prevent it; sometimes, it was better to pass than to risk bringing about a stalemate.

Renji weighed up the thought, and then dismissed it. A draw might be inelegant in Go, but it reflected balance and equality, not futility. Niou was right. Playing to win shouldn't be the point; it shouldn't be a relentless drive for points and territory. In fact, the important thing wasn't really the game at all. It was the opponent.

Renji grinned. It was certainly going to be a challenge. But more importantly, it was going to be _fun_.


End file.
